Verde Compacto has installed a full-scale vertical farm inside Estadio Akron, home to Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Chivas). Just beyond the stands, a container system grows leafy greens, herbs, and wheatgrass for direct use in the stadium's kitchens.

"We wanted to prove that you don't need to be in the countryside, or even outside a stadium, to grow fresh, high-quality food," says Juan Gabriel Succar, Co-Founder of Verde Compacto.

"Clients use our farms to integrate a sustainable food supply chain directly into their business models," says Juan Gabriel Succar, Co-Founder of Mexican container farming company, Verde Compacto. The company's 40-foot container farm, the Huvster Pro, is being adopted by stadiums, resorts, universities, and municipalities, and is shipped fully equipped, with digital monitoring, remote support, and optional service extensions.

Succar says the system is designed to meet more than just production targets, offering a certifiable, financeable path to vertical farming for customers prioritizing year-round supply, sustainability indicators, and on-site visibility.

Professional sports organizations are increasingly exploring sustainability initiatives to reduce environmental impacts associated with stadium operations. Challenges such as high carbon emissions from food transportation, reliance on external food suppliers, and the need for chemical-free nutrition are common across the industry.

At Estadio Akron, Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Chivas) has partnered with Verde Compacto and Revive It Sustainability Office to introduce the HUVSTER, a self-contained vertical hydroponic farm designed to provide a local, sustainable food source within the stadium.

According to Verde Compacto, this initiative offers a replicable model for integrating vertical farming into sports venues, with potential applications in other stadiums, urban spaces, and institutional food systems.

In this episode, I speak with Juan Gabriel Succar, the Co-founder of Verde Compacto, as he returns to share the latest developments in the world of vertical farming. Since our last conversation in 2022, Juan and his team have been busy refining their approach, focusing on standardizing their product offerings and expanding their reach.

“We seek to revolutionize the plate through food safety, using innovation and technology to produce more food with fewer resources. We design systems that allow us to produce food throughout the year, regardless of the season or the weather, free of pesticides and toxins, with zero waste of water and close to the final consumer”, explains Juan, also a Mechatronics graduate from ITESM. .