Grow light is an electrical light designed either to provide a light spectrum similar to that of the sun or to provide a spectrum that is more tailored to meet the needs of the plants being cultivated. It can be adjusted to change from ultraviolet (UV) spectrum to infrared (IR) spectrum. This adjustment makes plants grow to their best potential, while maximizing potential profits. Grow lights are highly preferred for seedlings, herbs, succulents, and leafy houseplants, as they offer optimum environment for growth.
Higher efficiency offered by grow lights such as LEDs is the prime reason that drives growth of the grow light industry. Diodes of LED fixture are inherently superior at converting electricity into light. Subsequently, it lowers electricity consumption, as less number of fixtures are required to provide the same amount of light. Thus, LEDs serve as a reliable technology for indoor and commercial greenhouse’s growers.
To control light intensity, LEDs, high-intensity discharge (HID), metal halides (MH), and high-pressure sodium (HPS) can compensate for sunlight’s shortcomings. These lights are strong, economical with energy, and durable. Some of the grow lights are suitable for indoor farming, as they produce little heat. Moreover, grow lights are installed in the commercial greenhouse to provide the right spectrum of light and heat to promote plant growth. Commercial greenhouse grow lights, including HPS grow lights, ceramic metal halide grow lights (CMH), HSP lamps, and flowering lamps are offered by businesses such as Signify N.V., SANlight GmbH, Valoya, GE Current, and Heliospectra AB.
The growth of the grow light market is anticipated to be fueled by commercial greenhouses’ demonstrated effectiveness for growing plants indoors. Furthermore, grow lights offer higher controllability and scalability, which accelerate the demand for grow light. Moreover, rise in adoption of vertical farming is opportunistic for the market growth.
Although the grow light market is yet to see involvement of medicinal plants at a larger scale, rise in demand for cannabis & mushrooms, technology support, increase in number of installation type farms, and developments in grow light technology significantly reduce lighting cost, which are anticipated to offer remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the global grow light market during the forecast period. However, high initial investment acts as a major restraint of the global market. Moreover, lack of standardization results in high risk of purchasing incompatible parts that hampers the market growth.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 negatively impacted the growth of the global grow light market. The industry stakeholders incurred huge losses and were forced to resort to extreme measures and reorient their age-old strategies to ensure survival and long-term stability. However, after the passing of the relapse waves of COVID-19 accompanied by massive vaccination drives carried out by nations across the globe, different lighting segments such as LEDs, HID, metal halides (MH), and high-pressure sodium (HPS) began to recover from 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has primarily had a disruptive effect on the economy. The distribution of the finished product as well as the supply of raw materials were both impacted by the supply chain disruptions.
In addition, compared to pre-COVID levels, the demand for grow lights decreased significantly. In the short term, the demand for grow lights is anticipated to suffer from a decline in export shipments and a slowdown in domestic demand compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. However, as the restrictions were liberalized, the market began to improve. The trend of work from home for an extended period of time boosted gardening, especially growing vegetables. For their home gardens, many people embraced vertical farming and indoor farming methods such as hydroponics. The demand for grow lights began to increase, and after the restrictions were lifted, the demand for grow lights stabilized.
The key factors that drive the growth of the grow light market include rapid urban cultivation, increase in adoption of vertical farming & indoor cultivation, government initiatives for the adoption of energy-efficient LEDs for cultivation & installation of recliner grow lights, which can be easily replaced for maintenance. However, the high cost of the implementation process due to diverse standards and regulations across different geographies hampers the market growth. Conversely, the opportunity lies in the cultivation of different herbs & cannabis and rapid adoption of breakthrough technologies.
Key Player Strategies to Tackle the Negative Impact
The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic globally has been largely disruptive. Companies operating in the lighting industry state that temporarily shut down production sites will lead to a decline in revenues for the financial year 2020–2021. Various measures undertaken by players to tackle the negative impact are as follow ranges:
The Expanded Lead Time of the Projects
Major players operating in the grow light market are expected to continue their ongoing retrofit lighting installation process once the rules and regulations for coronavirus pandemics are minimized. In addition, companies will be able to strive for their business in this dire situation to propel the market positively.
Focusing on Next-Generation Products
It is expected that the demand for new and innovative products would surge once the economy begins to recover. Rather than simply improving products using current state-of-the-art technology, companies are looking forward to investing in next-generation products using new technologies, as it will well position its goodwill, once customer demand surges.
The companies such as BIOS Lighting and Kroptek are looking forward to produce a single grow light, which contains multiple options such as Internet of Things (IoT), dimmable LEDs, and adjusting height of fixtures. This factor will provide an edge for the companies and manufacturers to lower the material cost during production, and constant updates will be provided for the products.
The Shift toward Agile Elastic Supply Chain Model
Key players in the global grow light market are shifting toward agile supply chain model that has multiple pathways to prevent single points of failure. It can help them balance costs with better assurance for business continuity and sustainability.
Shifting from single country hubs to more extensive regional supply networks can initiate collaborative partnerships and industry associations. Stakeholders are investing in resources and infrastructure that can quickly enable new manufacturing and supply nodes when required.
Post COVID-19 Scenario
Intercanopy grow lights are extensively used in vertical farming, which provide light from above as well as from the sides for the plant. Major light does not reach to the bottom of the plant, thus, intercanopy grow lights play an important role for vertical farming. Firms gain a competitive edge by following quality management standards and providing standardized lighting services. Governments of different regions such as North America and Asia-Pacific are promoting the cultivation of crops in the indoor environment. This masterstroke will help grow light players to expand almost in all untapped regions, thus boosting the growth of agile supply chain in the grow light market.
Recent News in the Grow Light Market
Biological Innovations and Optimization Systems, LLC (BIOS) CEO Sean Tegart announced the partnership with OCL Architectural Lighting, which will combine OCL’s high-quality luminaires with BIOS SkyBlue LED Solutions’ inherently stunning performance. This will be helpful in the development of BIOS’s human-centric product line. Furthermore, the company introduced the next generation of Icarus LED Grow Lights by expanding its DLC-Listed Fixture Portfolio. As per company, there are now 11 BIOS LED grow lights available for significant energy rebates and incentives. In addition, BIOS company stated that BIOS Icarus fixtures give excellent production of vegetations for years with better efficacy, industry-leading uniformity, and improved long-term performance.
In addition, the grow light market in Europe and Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit growth in the coming future. Asia-Pacific serves as the potential market for grow light. This is attributed to rapid increase in urban agriculture, such as vertical farming, green houses, and growth chambers. Moreover, the countries such as Japan, Taiwan, and China are the major sources of demand for grow lights in the region. Regional growth is expected to be further influenced by high demand for taking efficient and accurate business decisions.
Conclusion
The grow light market is expected to leverage high potential for hydroponics, aeroponics, and commercial glass greenhouses in the coming years. The current business scenario is witnessing an increase in the demand for urban cultivation particularly in the developing countries such as China and India due to increase in demand for partial dependence on home-grown, chemical-free vegetables. Furthermore, companies in this industry are adopting various innovative techniques such as mergers and acquisition activities to strengthen their business position in the competitive matrix. Moreover, R&D activities and the adoption of the technology across various equipment and applications in the developed countries such as the U.S., the UK, Germany, and China make them hold the major market shares, globally.