CropBox
CropBox manufactures 320-square-foot containerized hydroponic growing systems with four crop-specific variants (Leafy Greens & Herbs, Strawberry, Microgreens & Fodder, Mushroom), serving restaurants, agricultural operations, research institutions, and remote communities through direct sales.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersClinton, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What CropBox does
CropBox designs and manufactures hydroponic growing systems packaged inside 320-square-foot insulated shipping containers. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Clinton, NC, the company operates with 1-10 employees and offers four specialized container variants — Leafy Greens & Herbs, Strawberry, Microgreens & Fodder, and Mushroom Cropbox units — each built around a 40-foot insulated container form factor. Each system integrates 18+ environmental sensors, smartphone-based remote control, and NFT (nutrient film technique) hydroponic infrastructure to support controlled-environment agriculture. The company claims resource efficiency of approximately 90% less water and 80% less fertilizer than conventional growing, with up to 8x crop cycles per year.
The company generates revenue through hardware unit sales, replacement parts, custom design services, and consulting. Customer segments are heterogeneous and include restaurants, agricultural operations (including horse boarding facilities), commercial indoor growers, research institutions such as UC Riverside (validated December 2024), and remote/island communities. Go-to-market is direct sales with a consultative approach, supplemented by a financing partnership with Contain, Inc. that lowers buyer capital requirements. The company has positioned itself explicitly around a "Made in America" manufacturing footprint and is actively targeting customers displaced by Freight Farms' 2025 bankruptcy, suggesting an opportunistic competitor-displacement strategy in the container-farm segment.
No financial disclosures are available — no revenue, funding history, or headcount growth data is present in the source material — limiting conclusions on scale, growth rate, or capital structure beyond the 1-10 employee range.
CropBox firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CropBox
- Legal name
- CropBox
- Website
- https://cropbox.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- CropBox manufactures 320-square-foot containerized hydroponic growing systems with four crop-specific variants (Leafy Greens & Herbs, Strawberry, Microgreens & Fodder, Mushroom), serving restaurants, agricultural operations, research institutions, and remote communities through direct sales.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CropBox industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Indoor Farming Equipment
- NAICS
- Farm Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing (333111), Agricultural Implement Manufacturing (33311)
- SIC
- Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523), Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585), Refrigeration & Service Industry Machinery (3580)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Vertical Farming Systems & Racking (Indoor Farms, Multi-tier) (AFAAAHAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) / Vertical Farming (Indoor LED Farms) (AFAGAHAJ), Hydroponic & Aeroponic Growing Systems (NFT, DWC, Ebb/Flow, Misting) (AFAAAHAD), Environmental Control & Climate Systems (HVAC, CO₂, Ventilation, Dehumidification) (AFAAAHAB)
Keywords
Where CropBox is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Clinton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CropBox business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Container Farm Hardware Sales: Sale of complete shipping container farming systems including the Leafy Greens, Strawberry, Microgreens, and Mushroom Cropbox units. Each unit is a turnkey agricultural system housed in a 40-foot insulated shipping container with full environmental controls, hydroponic systems, and smart monitoring capabilities.
- Custom Design and Installation Services: Fully customized design and build services for shipping container farming systems using advanced 3D design technology. Services include farm consultation and system analysis, equipment build, design, and installation for customized hydroponic systems and controlled environments.
- Replacement Parts and Supplies: Supply of compatible or upgraded alternatives for Freight Farms systems including nutrients, lighting components, irrigation systems, and climate control parts for existing container farm operators.
- Consulting and Technical Support Services: One-on-one consulting services for container farming operations including troubleshooting, operational efficiency optimization, and production scaling guidance tailored to individual setups.
- Financing Partnership Revenue: Partnership with Contain, Inc. for lease financing, where Cropbox refers customers seeking financing and receives consideration through this channel partnership for indoor farming equipment.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Container Farm Financing through Contain, Inc. |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Strawberry Cropbox |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Leafy Greens and Herbs Cropbox |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Mushroom Cropbox |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Microgreens Cropbox |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
CropBox product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CropBox manufactures controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems housed within repurposed 40-foot insulated shipping containers for hydroponic production of leafy greens, strawberries, microgreens, and mushrooms. The turnkey systems include full environmental controls (LED lighting, climate, CO2, nutrients, pH), smartphone-based monitoring of 18+ sensors, and modular 5-high stacking capability. The company also provides custom design, build, and installation services, plus financing facilitation through a partnership with Contain, Inc.
Product overview
CropBox offers a modular vertical farming system based on controlled environment agriculture housed within repurposed shipping containers. The core product line consists of four specialized Cropbox variants—the Leafy Greens & Herbs Cropbox (flagship), Strawberry Cropbox, Microgreens & Fodder Cropbox, and Mushroom Cropbox—each designed for specific crop production with full environmental control. These systems can be stacked up to 5-high for scalable production and are supported by Custom Solutions for bespoke design services and Container Farm Financing through a partnership with Contain, Inc.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Leafy Greens & Herbs Cropbox Flagship 40-foot refrigerated shipping container with full environmental controls and smartphone app monitoring, producing up to 12,000 pounds of leafy greens and up to 150 herb/green/lettuce varieties annually. Designed for restaurants, farmers, and entrepreneurs seeking year-round hyper-local production.
- Strawberry Cropbox Hydroponic grow system in a repurposed shipping container producing approximately 6,000-7,000 lbs of strawberries per year, equivalent to an entire acre of traditional farmland. Features integrated hydroponic dosing monitor and full environmental monitoring.
- Microgreens & Fodder Cropbox Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) system producing over 750 sq ft of microgreens simultaneously, with nutrient dosing controllers, pH management, and specialized HVAC. Suited for restaurants, health markets, and horse boarding facilities producing barley sprouts and animal fodder.
- Mushroom Cropbox 40-foot insulated shipping container with fully automated climate control for mushroom cultivation, including specialized humidifiers, dedicated air conditioning, and full CO2/temperature/humidity controls. Available as complete production units (clean room, colonizing room, fruiting room) or fruiting room solutions.
- Custom Solutions Design and Build Service Fully customized design, engineering, build, and installation services for container farming systems using in-house 3D design technology. Includes farm consultation, system analysis, equipment build, and installation for tailored hydroponic and controlled environment solutions.
- Container Farm Financing Lease financing for Cropbox systems facilitated through Contain, Inc., an alternate finance business serving indoor growers. Three-step process (qualification, approval, bundle selection) covering grow systems, control systems, and LED lighting with affordable multi-year payment plans.
Quantifiable outcome
- 90% less water usage (27,000 vs 270,000 gallons/acre/year)
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use CropBox
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
CropBox technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
CropBox partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators12 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CropBox competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Plenty: Plenty is a well-funded indoor vertical farming operator building large, technologically advanced grow facilities. Like AeroFarms and Bowery, it competes at the category level for retailer and food-service leafy-greens demand addressed by CropBox systems.
- AeroFarms: AeroFarms is a well-capitalized indoor vertical farming operator using aeroponics in large warehouse facilities rather than shipping containers. It is a broader incumbent in the indoor-farming category that competes for the same end-customer demand (restaurants, retailers) CropBox targets.
- Gotham Greens: Gotham Greens operates a national network of high-tech greenhouses producing leafy greens and herbs for retail and food-service. Greenhouse- rather than container-based, but directly comparable on customer, product, and value proposition.
- Bowery Farming: Bowery operates large-scale indoor vertical farms serving major retailers. Although warehouse- rather than container-based, Bowery competes for the same fresh-local-produce demand and represents the at-scale indoor CEA category that CropBox's restaurant customers also evaluate.
- BrightFarms: BrightFarms builds and operates indoor/greenhouse farms supplying supermarkets with locally grown produce. Same fresh-local-produce thesis as CropBox, executed at greenhouse scale rather than container scale.
Direct peers
- Square Roots: Square Roots operates modular, container-based indoor farms for herbs and leafy greens distributed to grocery and food-service channels. While more operator-led than CropBox, it shares the container-CEA platform thesis and restaurant/retail buyer focus.
- Freight Farms: Freight Farms was the leading US manufacturer of shipping-container hydroponic farms (Greenery and earlier models) before its 2025 bankruptcy. CropBox is actively courting its displaced customer base, making it the most direct comparable — same product category, same buyer profile (restaurants, growers, institutions).
- Babylon Micro-Farms: Babylon sells indoor vertical farming systems (including container- and cabinet-based units) targeting restaurants, hotels, and universities with on-site fresh produce. It overlaps CropBox most directly on the microgreens/fodder use case and small-footprint CEA hardware.
- Growtainer: Growtainer builds custom hydroponic container farms — both 20-ft and 40-ft reefer containers — for leafy greens, herbs, and strawberries. Same shipping-container-CEA equipment model and similar SMB/agricultural customer profile as CropBox.
Emerging players
- LettUs Grow: LettUs Grow is a UK-based CEA technology company offering aeroponic container and vertical-farm systems plus farm-management software. Geographic footprint differs, but its container-CEA hardware/software stack is technologically adjacent to CropBox.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CropBox social profiles
Digital presenceCropBox financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CropBox leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
CropBox funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CropBox M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CropBox
What does CropBox do?
CropBox manufactures controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems housed within repurposed 40-foot insulated shipping containers for hydroponic production of leafy greens, strawberries, microgreens, and mushrooms. The turnkey systems include full environmental controls (LED lighting, climate, CO2, nutrients, pH), smartphone-based monitoring of 18+ sensors, and modular 5-high stacking capability. The company also provides custom design, build, and installation services, plus financing facilitation through a partnership with Contain, Inc.
Is CropBox a public or private company?
CropBox is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was CropBox founded?
CropBox was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is CropBox based?
CropBox is headquartered in Clinton, United States, in the North America region.
How does CropBox make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Container Farm Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are custom Design and Installation Services, replacement Parts and Supplies, consulting and Technical Support Services and financing Partnership Revenue.
Who are CropBox's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Plenty, AeroFarms, Gotham Greens, Bowery Farming and BrightFarms. Direct peers are Square Roots, Freight Farms, Babylon Micro-Farms and Growtainer. LettUs Grow is listed as an emerging player.
Does CropBox have an API?
No public API is recorded for CropBox.
What industry is CropBox in?
CropBox's product category is Indoor Farming Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAAAHAI, Vertical Farming Systems & Racking (Indoor Farms, Multi-tier), with a secondary code of AFAGAHAJ, Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) / Vertical Farming (Indoor LED Farms). Its NAICS code is 333111 and its SIC code is 3523.