Cultiva

What Cultiva does

Cultiva LLC is a Las Vegas-based agricultural biotechnology company founded in 2011 that develops and commercializes plant cuticle care products for high-value specialty crops. The company's core technology, SureSeal™, is a proprietary food-grade biofilm formulation of phospholipids and polysaccharides originally developed at Oregon State University and exclusively licensed to Cultiva for agricultural applications. SureSeal operates through two mechanisms: it forms a hydrophobic, elastic lipid bilayer that fills microcracks in the plant cuticle and expands with fruit growth, and biochemically it increases photosynthesis efficiency and antioxidant production. The flagship commercial product, Parka®, is a foliar-applied cuticle supplement sold primarily to growers of cherries, apples, grapes, blueberries, citrus, nuts, pears, peppers, tomatoes, and strawberries; the company also sells Kallur®, a potassium-based harvest aid formulated in a phospholipid complex that improves fruit color and harvest uniformity without accelerating ripeness. Parka is exempt from U.S. EPA registration due to its food-grade composition, has no pre-harvest interval, and leaves no visible residue, providing a regulatory pathway faster than conventional pesticide competitors.

Cultiva sells through a hybrid go-to-market model combining direct technical sales representatives (covering the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Northern and Southern California, Chile, and Europe/LATAM) with exclusive distribution partnerships: BioSafe Systems holds exclusive rights for the eastern United States (36 states), and Arysta LifeScience Chile distributes across Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Colombia. The company runs an annual Cultiva Master Class event in Las Vegas, publishes an extensive agronomic insights content library, and conducts CCA/CEU-approved webinars targeting crop advisors and growers. Revenue is generated primarily through unit-priced seasonal product sales (Parka applied at ~0.5 gal/acre at fruit set and repeated at 14–21 day intervals) supplemented by technology licensing of the SureSeal platform. The company has raised approximately $8.89 million cumulatively through three funding rounds (2015, 2017, 2020) all associated with the Nevada New Markets Tax Credit program and lead investor Advantage Capital, and was named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing U.S. companies in 2018. Cultiva currently operates a manufacturing facility in Las Vegas, with regional offices in Santiago, Chile and Madrid, Spain, and achieved EU biostimulant registration for Parka in March 2025.

The company's customer base consists of commercial specialty crop growers and the crop advisors who serve them, with documented grower testimonials across cherries, blueberries, apples, pears, grapes, nuts, and tomatoes in the United States and South America. Quantified trial outcomes supporting product efficacy include 48% average reduction in cherry cracking across 15 trials over 10 years, 54% reduction in blueberry cracking, up to 53% reduction in bell pepper sunburn, and 10% yield increase in nut crops. Cultiva maintains active research collaborations with Oregon State University, the University of Concepción, the University of Chile, and Cornell University, and is led by founder/CEO Luis Hernandez with a board that includes former senior executives from Corteva Agriscience, Bayer CropScience, FMC Corporation, and Dow AgroSciences.

Name

Cultiva

Legal name

Cultiva LLC

Website

https://cultiva.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cultiva LLC commercializes proprietary SureSeal™ plant cuticle care technology, primarily as Parka® and Kallur® foliar products, for commercial growers of high-value specialty crops including cherries, apples, grapes, blueberries, citrus, and nuts across North America, South America, and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Swanton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Parka Sales: Cultiva generates revenue through the sale of its proprietary crop protection products, primarily Parka and Kallur. Parka is sold to specialty crop growers through a network of distributors, retailers, and direct technical sales support. Products are applied as foliar sprays during the growing season at fruit set and repeated at regular intervals. The company serves agricultural markets globally with products that are exempt from EPA registration due to their safe, natural composition.
2. Technology Licensing: Cultiva licenses its SureSeal technology for agricultural applications worldwide. The proprietary technology was initially developed through partnership with Oregon State University and is now used to create products that suppress fruit cracking, enhance quality traits, and extend shelf life of high-value crops.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cultiva develops, manufactures, and sells plant cuticle care products based on its proprietary SureSeal biofilm technology. Its flagship product, Parka, is a phospholipid and polysaccharide-based plant health solution applied as a foliar spray to enhance and supplement the fruit and leaf cuticle, reducing cracking, sunburn, and environmental stress on specialty crops. A second product, Kallur, is a potassium-based harvest aid that improves fruit color development and harvest efficiency. Products are sold to commercial fruit and nut growers globally.

Product overview

Cultiva offers a focused product portfolio centered on its proprietary SureSeal™ technology, a food-grade cuticle supplement platform. The flagship product, Parka®, is a phospholipid and polysaccharide-based plant health solution that enhances the fruit and leaf cuticle across a wide range of high-value specialty crops including cherries, apples, grapes, blueberries, citrus, nuts, pears, peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, and new plantings. A second product, Kallur®, is a potassium-based harvest aid in a phospholipid complex that improves fruit color development and harvest efficiency without accelerating ripeness. Together, Parka and Kallur form a complementary crop management program addressing cuticle protection, stress mitigation, and harvest quality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Parka®: Plant health solution that enhances the fruit and leaf cuticle, providing season-long protection against environmental stressors. Powered by SureSeal™ technology.
• Kallur®

Products and services

• Parka® A phospholipid and polysaccharide-based plant health solution applied as a foliar spray that enhances and supplements the fruit and leaf cuticle, providing season-long protection against environmental stressors such as rain-induced cracking, sunburn, and heat stress for specialty crop growers.
• Kallur®

Quantifiable outcome

• Cherry cracking reduced by 48% on average across 15 trials over 10 years covering 8 varieties (Bing, Skeena, Sweetheart, Lapin, Coral, Brooks, Ziraat, Early Burlat)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, major and core.

• Cornell UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 January 2024Dr. Jocelyn Rose, Director of the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, served as speaker at Cultiva's 2024 Masterclass. Dr. Rose is an internationally recognized scholar in plant cell wall research and delivered the 'Cuticle 101' presentation.
• BioSafe SystemsmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 23 March 2023Exclusive distribution agreement for eastern United States. BioSafe Systems, a family-owned company certified to ISO standards and leading innovations in environmentally sustainable practices since 1998, distributes Parka to specialty crop growers across 36 states in the eastern US.
• Oregon State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2012Cultiva partnered with Oregon State University in 2012 to license SureSeal technology, a biofilm technology developed by university researchers. The technology has physical and biochemical properties that enhance the plant's cuticular membrane. This partnership led to the commercial launch of Parka in 2013. OSU retains the SureSeal trademark while Cultiva has exclusive licensing rights for agricultural applications.
• Arysta LifeScience ChilemajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partnership covering South American markets. Arysta LifeScience is a global provider of crop protection and yield-enhancing products operating in more than 60 countries. The partnership accelerated Parka market growth in Chile and expanded distribution to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Colombia.
• GlobalMetsupportingTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with GlobalMet, a precision weather forecasting service, to provide comprehensive weather forecasts to specialty crop growers. GlobalMet leverages advanced algorithms and field-specific weather station data to generate predictions with 90% accuracy. Forecasts are provided for Yakima and Wenatchee regions in Washington and Lodi and Visalia regions in California for the 2024 growing season.
• University of ConcepciónsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership led by Dr. Richard Bastías studying Parka's effectiveness in controlling cherry splitting and blueberry cracking. Trials demonstrated positive results under moderate rainy conditions. The university received funding from Cultiva for cuticle supplement studies.
• University of ChilesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership led by Dr. Karen Sagredo evaluating Parka for cherry cracking reduction and apple sunburn protection. Key findings included mutual enhancement with gibberellic acid, reduced post-harvest dehydration, and less pedicel browning. Studies funded by Cultiva.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• AgroFresh Solutions: AgroFresh is the most directly comparable peer — a specialty crop post-harvest and pre-harvest solutions provider with deep focus on fruit cuticle, freshness, and decay control. Both companies serve the same high-value fruit and nut growers with science-backed protective products, and AgroFresh board member Dr. Mark Zettler (ex-VP R&D) is now on Cultiva's board, underscoring direct category overlap.
• Pace International: Pace International specializes in cuticle coatings, post-harvest fungicides, and fruit quality solutions for apples, pears, cherries, citrus, and stone fruit. Comparable to Cultiva in crop focus, customer base (specialty fruit growers), and channel-to-retailer distribution model targeting the same high-value specialty crop segments.
• Valent BioSciences: Valent BioSciences (a Sumitomo Chemical company) is a global leader in biorational and biostimulant products for agriculture. Directly competes with Cultiva in the biostimulant category with established global distribution and broader product portfolio, but addresses the same plant health/wellness positioning Cultiva occupies.
• Certis Biologicals: Certis Biologicals is a dedicated biological crop protection company offering biostimulants, biocontrol, and bio-based fungicides. Directly comparable to Cultiva in product category (biological plant health), target customer (specialty crop growers), and regulatory positioning (biological alternatives to conventional chemistry).
• BioWorks: BioWorks provides biological crop care products including biostimulants, biocontrols, and disease management solutions for specialty agriculture, horticulture, and turf. Comparable to Cultiva in its specialty-crop customer focus and biological positioning, though smaller in scale.
• Lallemand Plant Care: Lallemand Plant Care develops microbial-based biostimulants, biocontrol, and plant nutrition products for specialty and row crops globally. Directly competes in the biostimulant category with established global distribution and complementary product portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Novonesis (formerly Novozymes): Novonesis is a global leader in biological solutions including agricultural biostimulants and biocontrol. While broader in scope (industrial enzymes, animal health, etc.), its agricultural biologicals division directly competes with Cultiva in the biostimulant category and operates at much greater scale globally.
• Syngenta Biologicals: Syngenta is one of the largest global crop protection companies with an expanding biologicals portfolio including biostimulants. While serving a much broader customer base, its biologicals division competes directly with Cultiva in specialty crop markets with greater scale and R&D resources.
• FMC Corporation: FMC is a major global crop protection company with both synthetic chemistry and an expanding biologicals portfolio. Cultiva board member Christina Coen held North American head of sales at FMC, indicating direct executive overlap. Competes with Cultiva in specialty crop inputs with substantially greater resources.

Emerging players

• BioConsortia: BioConsortia is an emerging player developing microbial biostimulants and biocontrol products using a microbial discovery platform. Comparable to Cultiva in biologicals positioning and specialty crop focus, though smaller and earlier-stage, with overlap in addressing environmental stress in crops.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cultivaipm

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cultiva