Livingston Seed Company

What Livingston Seed Company does

Livingston Seed Company, founded in 1850 and headquartered in Norton, Massachusetts, is a wholesale supplier of non-GMO vegetable and flower seeds operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT). The company packages and distributes seeds in both retail-ready packets and bulk formats, including a signature window packaging that allows product visibility without opening. Livingston is strictly B2B: it serves independent farm stores, garden centers, and hardware stores and explicitly excludes big-box retailers and direct-to-consumer channels.

The business operates through a Shopify-powered website paired with a password-protected B2B portal that enforces a 100-packet minimum order, indicating order economics geared toward replenishment rather than single-unit retail. Marketing presence is limited to Facebook and Pinterest, consistent with a wholesale-oriented brand rather than direct-to-consumer advertising. The company carries third-party credibility assets including Non-GMO Project Verification and the Council for Responsible Genetics Safe Seed Pledge, both aligned with the customer base of its independent retail partners.

The subsidiary structure under Central Garden & Pet — a multi-brand lawn and garden consumables platform — implies shared procurement, distribution, and back-office scale, though Livingston's financials are not separately disclosed. The brand's 175-year heritage functions as a positioning asset in a mature category, and the company maintains an annual cadence of new seed variety introductions for retail partners.

Name

Livingston Seed Company

Legal name

Livingston Seed Company

Website

https://livingstonseed.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1850

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Livingston Seed Company is a wholesale supplier of non-GMO vegetable and flower seeds serving independent retailers such as farm stores, garden centers, and hardware stores across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Garden Seeds and Horticultural Supplies

NAICS

Other Crop Farming (1119)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150)

akta.pro primary industry

Seed Distribution & Wholesale (Channel Sales) (AFAGAIAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Seed Production & Multiplication (Contract Growing, Foundation/Certified Seed) (AFABAFAK)

Keywords

• Vegetable seed wholesale
• Flower seed distribution
• Non-GMO garden seeds
• Independent retailer supply
• Bulk seed packets

Headquarters

HQ city

Norton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Seed Sales: Revenue generated through wholesale distribution of packet and bulk vegetable and flower seeds to independent retailers. Orders placed through a password-protected B2B portal with minimum 100 packet requirement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Livingston Seed Company is a B2B wholesale supplier of non-GMO vegetable and flower seeds, founded in 1850 and headquartered in Norton, Massachusetts. The company sells packet and bulk seeds exclusively to independent retailers, including farm stores, independent garden centers, and hardware stores, through a password-protected wholesale ordering portal with a 100 packet minimum order.

Product overview

Livingston Seed Company is a B2B seed supplier founded in 1850, offering a portfolio of non-GMO vegetable and flower seeds in both packet and bulk formats exclusively to independent retailers (farm stores and garden centers). The company differentiates through its unique window packaging that visually displays seed quantities, along with premium seed displays for in-store merchandising. Livingston Seed does not sell directly to consumers or big box retail stores, positioning itself as the number one supplier for independent businesses seeking quality seeds with reliable germination results.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vegetable Seeds
• Flower Seeds
• Bulk Seeds
• Seed Displays

Quantifiable outcome

• Packages contain more seeds than advertised - e.g., 85 seeds in package labeled as 70

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Central Garden & Pet CompanycoreOthersCentral Garden & Pet Company is the parent company and owner of Livingston Seed. The privacy statement references Central Garden & Pet's data practices and policies govern the Livingston Seed website and customer data.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Botanical Interests: Premium packet-seed brand sold primarily through independent garden centers with a reputation for high-quality, non-GMO varieties. Highly comparable positioning, channel strategy, and SKUs to Livingston.
• Park Seed Company: Heritage U.S. seed and live plant brand selling to home gardeners via catalog, web, and select retail. Similar heritage profile to Livingston and overlapping vegetable/flower seed categories.
• Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. Catalog and online seed brand offering vegetable, fruit, and flower seeds with a home-gardener focus. Comparable product breadth, consumer base, and packet/bulk formats to Livingston.
• Ferry-Morse Seed Company: Long-standing U.S. vegetable and flower seed brand sold through independent garden centers, hardware stores, and mass retail. A fellow Central Garden & Pet portfolio brand, making it the closest internal peer and a near-direct competitor on shelf at the same retailers.
• Burpee (W. Atlee Burpee & Company): One of the most recognized home garden seed brands in the U.S., offering vegetable and flower seeds through both retail and direct-to-consumer channels. Direct competitor in the non-GMO, packet-seed category that Livingston also serves.
• Johnny's Selected Seeds: Employee-owned seed company focused on vegetables, herbs, and flowers sold through direct and small-scale commercial channels. Comparable product mix (non-GMO vegetable/flower seeds) and serves overlapping home gardener and small-grower segments.
• Renee's Garden Seeds: Independent, direct-mail and online-focused packet seed brand in vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Comparable non-GMO, premium positioning and target of the same home gardener customer.

Emerging players

• Seed Savers Exchange: Non-profit focused on heirloom and open-pollinated seed preservation with a strong DTC/retail channel overlap. Comparable in product mix and non-GMO positioning, but distinct ownership structure and channel emphasis.
• True Leaf Market: Online seed retailer offering vegetable, herb, flower, and microgreen seeds with bulk and packet formats. Overlaps with Livingston's product formats and DIY gardener base, though more DTC and less retail-dependent.

Broad incumbents

• Central Garden & Pet Company (parent portfolio): Publicly traded parent of Livingston Seed and other garden/pet brands (including Ferry-Morse). Comparable as the wider portfolio company that owns Livingston and competes across multiple seed and garden product categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/livingstonseed
• Pinterestpinterest.com/plantationprod
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/livingston-seed-co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Livingston Seed Company