Salad greens and microgreens from 80 Acres Farms, stocked at more than 1,000 Kroger stores across the Midwest, may soon disappear from grocery shelves in the east-side villages. The Hamilton-based vertical farming company permanently shut down Monday, Aug. 3 after a last-minute acquisition deal fell apart.
The closure eliminates 145 jobs at the company's Hamilton facility between Monday, Aug. 3 and Monday, Aug. 17, according to a WARN Act notice filed with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Roughly 300 total employees are affected across all company operations, most in the Cincinnati Tri-State area.
CEO and co-founder Mike Zelkind said the company had been negotiating an acquisition expected to keep the business running. On the evening of Sunday, Aug. 2, the prospective buyer unexpectedly pulled out, according to the state filing. Without those proceeds and no other funding available, the company made the immediate decision to wind down.
The deal collapsed overnight.
"Unfortunately, under current circumstances, we could not secure the capital required to continue that work," Zelkind said in a statement posted Aug. 3.
Local shelves affected
80 Acres supplied salad kits, microgreens, herbs, tomatoes and cucumbers to Kroger, Meijer, Dorothy Lane Market, Walmart and other chains. The company had been a Kroger supplier since 2019 and expanded to roughly 1,000 Kroger stores across the Midwest and Southeast by August 2023, according to a company announcement. The Kroger at 7385 Wooster Pike in Mariemont is among the chain's roughly 1,000 regional stores that carried the brand.
As recently as January, 80 Acres was expanding its microgreens line into additional retailers, citing "strong retail performance" and "rising demand."
At least one competitor is already moving to fill the gap. Edible Garden, a controlled-environment agriculture company available in more than 6,000 retail locations, reported a sharp increase in product demand from retailers seeking new supply sources.
A decade of growth, then collapse
Zelkind and President and co-founder Tisha Livingston started 80 Acres in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Village in 2015, moved operations to Hamilton in 2019 and eventually operated farms in Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas and Colorado. The company raised more than $350 million over its lifetime, including a $160 million Series B in 2021 led by General Atlantic.
In August 2025, 80 Acres merged with Soli Organic, projecting first-year combined revenues of nearly $200 million. But the vertical farming sector has been contracting industrywide. Bowery Farming, AppHarvest and Kalera have all closed in recent years.
Eric W. Stein, executive director at the Center of Excellence for Indoor Agriculture, told Produce Grower that high capital costs, oversized facilities and rising energy and labor expenses contributed to the company's downfall.
What's next
The 145 Hamilton layoffs span roles from front-line packers to vice presidents and engineers. No buyer has been named. The WARN notice lists no union representation at the facility.
Affected workers can reach the company at 1-888-574-1569, the contact number listed in the state filing. All layoffs are expected to be complete by Monday, Aug. 17.
