Jon Lomow, the co-founder and president of Ottawa-based Fieldless Farms, hopes to raise more than $1 million for his company through equity crowdfunding platform FrontFundr.
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With Canadian nationalism enjoying a resurgence amid the brewing threat of a trade war with the U.S., Jon Lomow thinks the time is right for consumers to buy into his indoor farming business – literally.
Lomow, the co-founder and president of Ottawa-based Fieldless Farms, hopes to raise more than $1 million for his company through equity crowdfunding platform FrontFundr.
For a minimum investment of $250, virtually anyone can own a piece of Fieldless Farms. The company is selling preferred shares at a price of $1.896 per unit on FrontFundr, which was launched in 2015 and is now available to retail investors in eight provinces and the Yukon.
Fieldless’s campaign, which started about two weeks ago and runs for another 75 days, has raised nearly $200,000 so far, Lomow told OBJ this week.
The Ottawa entrepreneur met FrontFundr founder Peter-Paul Van Hoeken last year and was “super impressed” with Van Hoeken and his concept. The idea of launching a crowdfunding campaign for Fieldless intrigued him, he said, and it became even more appealing in light of brewing concerns about skyrocketing food costs if U.S. President Donald Trump ultimately makes good on his tariff threats and Canada retaliates.
“We have 11,000 recurring customers monthly who love our product and shop specifically in stores to find our product,” Lomow said. “We thought it was the perfect sort of retail customer to hit – if they love the business, they love what we’re doing, they’d be interested in owning a little piece of it and supporting it.”
Indeed, Canada’s reliance on food imports has become a hot topic in recent weeks.
About 90 per cent of all leafy greens consumed in this country are imported, with most of that produce coming from the U.S. According to Fieldless, nearly half a billion dollars worth of lettuce, spinach and herbs is consumed annually in Ontario and Quebec alone, with about 95 per cent of it produced in other countries, mainly the U.S.
Now, many industry observers fear a tariff war could drive up vegetable costs – which were already projected to rise between three and five per cent in 2025, according to the annual Food Price Report – even more than previously expected.
Lomow said Fieldless Farms, which has boosted its monthly yields by 50 per cent over the past six months, is ready to respond to the growing buy-local movement.
“It’s a little serendipitous with the timing,” he said. “Obviously, supporting Canadian food has just become more important than ever. There’s a lot of that sentiment as well that I think is probably helping us.”
