W Atlee Burpee

What W Atlee Burpee does

W. Atlee Burpee & Co. is a privately held U.S. seed and plant retailer founded in 1876 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and currently owned by George Ball, who acquired the company in the 1980s and became sole owner in 1991. The company sells vegetable seeds, flower seeds, herb seeds and plants, fruit plants, perennial plants, and a broad line of gardening supplies, all marketed under a non-GMO, 100% satisfaction guaranteed brand promise called "Burpee Seeds Grow."

Burpee's core technology is traditional seed and plant breeding, selection, and development for the home garden market, with a catalog spanning more than 35 vegetable, 25 flower, and 20 herb varieties, complemented by live garden-ready plants. Distribution is dual-channel: large national mass retailers, including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Tractor Supply, carry Burpee products in physical stores, while the burpee.com e-commerce site serves direct-to-consumer demand. Marketing is built around the Burpee Garden Guide educational content, social media presence across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and X, email newsletters, and an annual digital catalog.

The company operates primarily in the United States with a confirmed Canadian presence, employs 101–250 people, and reported $242 million in consumer product sales for FY2025, a 120% increase from 2019. CEO Jamie Mattikow has described current growth as mid-single-digit, indicating that the pandemic-era gardening surge has largely been retained and is now compounding at a steady pace. The customer base is overwhelmingly individual home gardeners, with a recently added Farmers Market category extending into community-supported agriculture and small-scale farming.

Name

W Atlee Burpee

Legal name

W. Atlee Burpee Company

Website

https://burpee.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1876

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

W. Atlee Burpee & Co. is a 150-year-old, privately held U.S. seed and plant retailer serving home gardeners through Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, and burpee.com, with $242 million in FY2025 consumer product sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Home Gardening Seeds and Plants

NAICS

Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (44424), Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Retailers (4442)

SIC

Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200)

akta.pro primary industry

Seed Distribution & Retail (Dealers, Co-ops, E-commerce) (AFABAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Seed Distribution & Wholesale (Channel Sales) (AFAGAIAM)

Keywords

• Vegetable seeds
• Flower seeds
• Garden-ready plants
• Home gardening supplies
• Perennial plants

Headquarters

HQ city

Warminster

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Seed Sales: Burpee generates revenue through the sale of vegetable seeds, flower seeds, herb seeds, and fruit/berry plants to home gardeners via retail partners and direct e-commerce.
2. Plant and Garden Supply Sales: Sale of garden-ready plants, gardening supplies, tools, fertilizers, containers, greenhouses, and related horticultural products through multiple distribution channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

W. Atlee Burpee & Co. is a direct-to-consumer and retail seed and plant company offering a comprehensive gardening portfolio. Its core offerings include vegetable seeds, flower seeds, garden-ready plants, herb seeds and plants, fruit-bearing plants, and perennial plants, complemented by an extensive line of gardening supplies such as raised beds, containers, fertilizers, soil amendments, grow lights, seed starting equipment, greenhouses, composting supplies, tools, and watering products. The product line is sold under the "Burpee Seeds Grow" quality promise, emphasizing non-GMO seeds with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Product overview

W. Atlee Burpee & Co. is a direct-to-consumer and retail seed and plant company offering a comprehensive gardening portfolio. The core offerings consist of vegetable seeds, flower seeds, garden-ready plants, herb seeds and plants, fruit plants, and perennial plants. These are complemented by an extensive line of gardening supplies including raised beds, containers, fertilizers, soil amendments, grow lights, seed starting equipment, greenhouses, composting supplies, tools, and watering products. The company operates primarily through its e-commerce platform (burpee.com), a digital catalog, major retail partners (Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Tractor Supply), and provides educational content through the Burpee Garden Guide. The product line is branded under the Burpee Seeds Grow quality promise emphasizing non-GMO seeds with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vegetable Seeds Extensive selection of vegetable seeds including tomatoes, peppers, beans, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, corn, squash, and over 35 other vegetable categories for home gardeners.
• Flower Seeds Annual and perennial flower seeds including marigolds, petunias, sunflowers, zinnias, dahlias, and over 25 other flower varieties in various colors.
• Garden-Ready Plants Pre-grown plants shipped directly to customers, including vegetable starts, herb plants, and flowering plants ready for transplanting into gardens or containers.
• Herb Seeds and Plants Culinary and medicinal herb offerings including basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, cilantro, lavender, and over 20 other herb varieties.
• Fruit Seeds and Plants Fruit-bearing plants including blueberry bushes, strawberry plants, raspberry plants, blackberry plants, fig trees, grape vines, and specialty fruits.
• Perennial Plants Perennial flowers and plants that return year after year including roses, hydrangeas, hostas, daylilies, peonies, iris, and flowering bulbs like tulips and daffodils.
• Gardening Supplies Comprehensive line of gardening tools and accessories including cages and supports, containers and raised beds, fertilizers and soil, grow lights, seed starting equipment, composting supplies, greenhouses, watering products, and weed and pest control solutions.
• Farmers Market Product Line Specialized seeds and plants suited for community-supported agriculture and small-scale farming operations, offered through a dedicated Farmers Market section on burpee.com.
• 2026 Burpee Digital Catalog Online and downloadable version of Burpee's annual seed catalog, allowing customers to browse and shop the full product assortment digitally for the 2026 season.
• Gift Cards Digital and physical gift cards available for purchase, allowing customers to give the gift of gardening to friends and family.

Quantifiable outcome

• 120% revenue growth from 2019 to 2025/2026 ($242M in consumer product sales)

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• True Leaf Market: True Leaf Market sells vegetable, herb, and flower seeds plus sprouting and microgreen seeds directly to home gardeners and small growers via e-commerce. Comparable in product breadth, non-GMO positioning, and online-direct GTM.
• Park Seed: Park Seed is a long-established direct competitor in home gardener seeds, plants, and supplies, operating through catalog and online channels. Targets the same home gardening hobbyist customer with a similarly broad product range.
• Gurney's Seed & Nursery: Gurney's is a direct mail-order and online competitor offering vegetable seeds, plants, fruit trees, and gardening supplies to home gardeners. Closely comparable to Burpee in catalog-driven heritage seed catalog business and target customer.
• Johnny's Selected Seeds: Johnny's is a respected direct competitor in the home gardener and small-scale grower seed market, with strong e-commerce, gardener education content, and a reputation for high-quality seed genetics — comparable to Burpee's positioning but skewed more toward serious/educational gardeners.
• Bonnie Plants: Bonnie Plants is the largest supplier of vegetable and herb plants to home gardeners in the U.S., with national retail distribution similar to Burpee's. Highly comparable in customer (home gardeners), channel (mass retail), and product category (live plants).
• Ferry-Morse: Ferry-Morse is one of the oldest and most direct competitors to Burpee in North American home garden seed sales, offering vegetable, herb, and flower seeds through mass retail and online channels. Operates a similar broad-line seed portfolio targeting home gardeners.
• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds: Baker Creek is a fast-growing direct competitor specializing in heirloom and non-GMO seeds, overlapping directly with Burpee's core vegetable, herb, and flower seed offerings. Highly comparable on product category, customer (home gardeners), and non-GMO positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Scotts Miracle-Gro: Scotts is the dominant U.S. consumer lawn and garden brand, selling fertilizers, soils, and seed-starting supplies alongside live goods. Overlaps with Burpee's gardening supplies category and shares the major-retail channel but operates as a much broader portfolio incumbent rather than a seed specialist.

Emerging players

• Seed Savers Exchange: Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit-focused seed company offering heirloom and open-pollinated seeds to home gardeners. Comparable to Burpee in product category and customer segment, but differentiated by mission-driven positioning and member-supported model.
• Proven Winners: Proven Winners is a leading plant brand for flowering annuals, perennials, and shrubs sold through independent garden centers and big-box retail. Comparable to Burpee's perennial and flowering plant offerings but with a stronger garden center channel and live-plant focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/burpeegardens
• Facebookfacebook.com/burpeegardens
• Instagraminstagram.com/burpeegardening
• Pinterestpinterest.com/burpeegardens
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/w-atlee-burpee

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 W Atlee Burpee