AppHarvest launches Fight The Food Fight Campaign and e-commerce platform with its first harvest from second season of sustainably grown tomatoes

The company’s new The Food Fight Salsa is now available at shop.appharvest.com as tomatoes ship to store shelves

MOREHEAD, Ky., Nov. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  AppHarvest, Inc. (NASDAQ: APPH, APPHW), a leading AgTech company, public benefit corporation and Certified B Corp building some of the country’s largest high-tech indoor farms to grow affordable, nutritious fruits and vegetables at scale while providing good jobs in Appalachia, announces the launch of its new e-commerce site, shop.appharvest.com, and Fight the Food Fight campaign along with the first harvest of its second season of tomatoes grown at its 60-acre flagship indoor farm in Morehead, Ky. The new direct-to-consumer site launches with its first ever value-added product, The Food Fight Salsa, available in mild, medium, and spicy. A percentage of all salsa sales will be donated to the AppHarvest Foundation to fund AgTech education in Central Appalachia.

FIRST HARVEST OF SECOND SEASON

The sustainably grown tomatoes, co-branded with Sunset, have been available in top national grocery stores such as Kroger and in restaurants such as Wendy’s. AppHarvest’s non-GMO tomatoes are grown with 100% rainwater in Central Appalachia where they provide certified living wage jobs and inside a facility designed not to use harsh chemical pesticides.

“As a mission-driven company, we’re working to deliver consumers options for more delicious, sustainably grown produce that’s better tasting, better for the environment and better for people–and still at about the same price as standard produce,” said AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb.

The second season harvest grows from about 720,000 tomato plants, and the crop will continuously harvest into the summer of 2022. AppHarvest’s first harvest of season one began in January 2021.

“With this harvest, our second growing season is off to a solid start,” said AppHarvest President David Lee. “We’ve leveraged lessons learned from the first season to work to improve our quality and volume of USDA No. 1 tomatoes as we continue to grow into a broad sustainable foods company.”

AppHarvest’s high-tech indoor farms are designed to grow more with fewer resources—up to 30 times more than open-field agriculture on the same amount of land with up to 90% less water. Located within a day’s drive of 70% of the U.S. population, the company’s base in Central Appalachia allows them to harvest at peak nutrition and reduce diesel use in transportation by up to 80%.

FIGHT THE FOOD FIGHT

The Fight the Food Fight campaign is a call to action that encourages consumers to join AppHarvest in its mission to create a more resilient, American-owned food system designed for the long-term wellbeing of people, the planet, and future generations. The campaign empowers consumers to take ownership of their purchases and be an active member of the movement by supporting products that promote sustainable farm operations and well-paying jobs in agriculture.

AppHarvest is taking the Fight the Food Fight tour on the road with a food truck to provide sampling opportunities and a mobile greenhouse to educate people on how AppHarvest farms more sustainably with precision hydroponics. See the tour schedule for more information and upcoming events.

“We want folks to understand where their food is coming from and how great these tomatoes taste either on their own or in a salsa–especially compared to the significant volume of imports on the market that can sit on semi-trucks for many days and thousands of miles,” said Lee.

Crafted in small batches using sustainably grown AppHarvest tomatoes, The Food Fight Salsa is a fresh and simple blend of whole fruits and veggies, all responsibly sourced from farms based in the United States including salt procured from an ancient sea deep below the Appalachian Mountains. The salsa comes in three heat levels: mild, medium, and spicy for $15 for a pack of three jars, including free U.S. shipping. AppHarvest plans to expand its line of value-added products in the future and is committed to sourcing all US-grown ingredients.

To invest in the next generation of farmers and futurists, a percentage of all salsa sales will be donated to the AppHarvest Foundation to fund high school AgTech education in Central Appalachia.

“There’s a lot more than salsa in these jars. When you buy AppHarvest products, you’re fighting with us for a more resilient food system that treats people and planet right,” said Webb. “The Food Fight Salsa, along with our fresh produce, supports living wage jobs in agriculture and sustainable farming resulting in a product consumers can feel good about purchasing.”

AppHarvest’s first 60-acre controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facility in Morehead, Ky., is estimated to be able to produce about 40 million pounds of tomatoes per year.

About AppHarvest

AppHarvest is an applied technology company in Appalachia developing and operating some of the world’s largest high-tech indoor farms designed to grow non-GMO, chemical pesticide-free produce, using up to 90 percent less water than open-field agriculture and only rainwater while producing yields up to 30 times that of traditional agriculture on the same amount of land without agricultural runoff. The company combines conventional agricultural techniques with world-class technology including artificial intelligence and robotics to improve access for all to nutritious food, farming more sustainably, building a domestic food supply, and increasing investment in Appalachia. The company’s 60-acre Morehead, Ky. facility is among the largest indoor farms in the world. For more information, visit https://www.appharvest.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” “can,” “goal,” “target” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, regarding AppHarvest’s value of current and future investments, intention to build high-tech CEA farms, the anticipated benefits of and production at such facilities, timing and availability of tomatoes at top national grocery stores and restaurants, anticipated benefits of the second season harvest, AppHarvest’s future financial performance, as well as AppHarvest’s growth and evolving business plans and strategy, ability to capitalize on commercial opportunities, future operations, estimated financial position, estimated Adjusted EBITDA, revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of AppHarvest’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of AppHarvest. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC by AppHarvest on August 11, 2021 under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents AppHarvest has filed, or that AppHarvest will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect AppHarvest’s expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. AppHarvest anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its assessments to change. However, while AppHarvest may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, AppHarvest specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing AppHarvest’s assessments of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

MEDIA CONTACT: Travis Parman, [email protected]   

INVESTOR CONTACT: Kaveh Bakhtiari, [email protected]

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