Seed Co-operative
Seed Co-operative is the UK's community-owned organic seed company, breeding, producing, and selling certified organic and biodynamic open-pollinated vegetable, herb, flower, and green manure seeds to home gardeners and professional organic growers across Great Britain.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersGosberton, Spalding, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Seed Co-operative does
Seed Co-operative, legally Biodynamic and Organic Plant Breeding and Seeds Limited, is a community-owned organic seed company registered as a Community Benefit Society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 (registration number 7013). The company is the UK's only community-owned organic seed enterprise, established around 2015–2016 to address the decline in availability of organic open-pollinated seed, and operates from a single site at Gosberton Bank Nursery in Spalding, Lincolnshire, where it breeds, processes, tests, and stores seed. Its core technology is open-pollinated seed breeding and production using organic and biodynamic agricultural methods, with all seed certified organic by the Soil Association and a significant portion holding Demeter biodynamic certification; germination testing follows ISTA standards.
The portfolio consists of certified organic and biodynamic vegetable, herb, flower, and green manure seed sold in packets and bulk quantities up to 5kg, alongside curated gift sets (e.g., Start Your Own Market Garden, Give Bees a Chance, I Love Organic Tomatoes, Biodynamic Allotment Box) and digital gift vouchers. Revenue is generated through direct e-commerce on a Shopify storefront, a farm collection option, and a network of retail stockists across the UK and Ireland; the customer base is mixed, spanning home gardeners and allotmenteers, professional organic farmers, and a contracted network of certified organic/biodynamic growers who supply seed to the cooperative at 50% of wholesale price. Operations are constrained to Great Britain, as the company no longer supplies seed outside this territory following Brexit-related phytosanitary changes.
Seed Co-operative firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Seed Co-operative
- Legal name
- Biodynamic and Organic Plant Breeding and Seeds Limited
- Website
- https://seedcooperative.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Seed Co-operative is the UK's community-owned organic seed company, breeding, producing, and selling certified organic and biodynamic open-pollinated vegetable, herb, flower, and green manure seeds to home gardeners and professional organic growers across Great Britain.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Seed Co-operative industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Organic Agricultural Seeds
- NAICS
- Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142), Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240)
- SIC
- Agricultural Production-Crops (100)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Open-Pollinated/Varietal Seed Multiplication (AFAGAIAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cover Crop Seed & Green Manure Inputs (AFABAKAH), Organic Seed Production & Plant Breeding (Certified Organic Seed) (AFAGAKAF)
Keywords
Where Seed Co-operative is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gosberton, Spalding
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Seed Co-operative business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Seed and Plant Sales: Direct retail sales of organic and biodynamic vegetable, herb, flower, and green manure seeds through their e-commerce platform. Products sold in various pack sizes from individual seed packets to bulk quantities (1kg, 2.5kg, 5kg).
- Gift Vouchers: Digital gift vouchers sold in denominations from £5 to £100, providing a gifting option for gardening enthusiasts.
- Grower Network Payments: Payments to certified organic/biodynamic growers who supply harvested seed to the cooperative for processing and resale. Growers receive 50% of wholesale price.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual seed packets |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Bulk seed quantities |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Vouchers |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Pre-packed gift sets |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Seed Co-operative product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Seed Co-operative breeds, produces, and sells certified organic and biodynamic open-pollinated seeds for vegetables, herbs, flowers, and green manures, serving both home gardeners and professional organic growers across the UK and Ireland. The company operates from its Gosberton Bank Nursery facility where it handles seed cleaning, processing, testing, and storage, and distributes through its own e-commerce site, stockists, and a domestic grower network.
Product overview
Seed Co-operative is the UK's community-owned organic seed company offering a comprehensive portfolio of certified organic and biodynamic seeds. The core offering consists of vegetable seeds (fruit vegetables, leaf vegetables, root vegetables), flower seeds, herb seeds, and green manures. These are sold as individual seed packets and through curated gift sets including the Start Your Own Market Garden Gift Set, Give Bees a Chance Flowers Gift Set, I Love Organic Tomatoes Limited Edition Box, and The Biodynamic Allotment Box. Additional offerings include gift vouchers in various denominations and annual seed catalogues in both digital and paper formats. The company operates a community-owned cooperative model and grows, processes, and sells open-pollinated seed for professional and recreational growers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Organic & Biodynamic Vegetable Seeds Open-pollinated certified organic and biodynamic vegetable seeds for professional and recreational growers, including extensive variety selections across fruit vegetables, leaf vegetables, and root vegetables.
- Flower Seeds Organic flower seeds including annual flowers, biennial/perennial flowers, ornamental grasses, and flower mixtures for biodiversity and pollinator support.
- Herb Seeds Certified organic herb seeds for culinary and medicinal use.
- Green Manures Cover crops and green manures for soil improvement and sustainable farming systems.
- Start Your Own Market Garden Gift Set Curated gift set (£39.99) containing seeds for Lettuce, Leek, Cabbage, Leaf Beet, Parsnip, and other market garden staples with approximately 19,000+ seeds.
- Give Bees a Chance Flowers Gift Set Gift set (£12.99) containing 7 open-pollinated flower varieties (4,900 seeds total) for cutting and local biodiversity including Poppy Somniferum, Salvia, Nigella, Snapdragon, Cornflower, Californian poppy, and Orange Calendula.
- I Love Organic Tomatoes Limited Edition Box Limited edition seed collection (£9.99) featuring 7 open-pollinated tomato varieties including Gardeners Delight, Golden Sunrise, Ruthje, San Marzano, Green Zebra, Money Maker, and Bloody Butcher (25 seeds each) with full seed saving instructions.
- The Biodynamic Allotment Box Gift box (£29.99) containing 12 packets of certified organic and biodynamic seeds including Broadbean, Melon Charentais, Squash Spaghetti, Chilli Bolivian Rainbow, and more, supporting three not-for-profit organisations.
- Seed Co-operative Gift Voucher Digital gift vouchers available in denominations of £5, £10, £15, £25, £30, £50, and £100, delivered by email with no additional processing fees.
- Seed Catalogue (Digital) Annual digital catalogue available for download showcasing the full range of organic and biodynamic seed varieties.
- Seed Catalogue (Paper Copy) Printed annual catalogue available for order by post showcasing the full range of organic and biodynamic seed varieties.
Quantifiable outcome
- Growing organically from organic seed improves seed health and soil health, linking to human health
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Seed Co-operative
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Seed Co-operative technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Seed Co-operative partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Delfland NurseriesminorThe Seed Co-operative team attended an event at Delfland Nurseries, the UK's largest supplier of organic plug plants with 33 million plants per year. This was part of the Organic Growers Alliance 'on the farm' series. Delfland Nurseries was established in 1979 and is run by owners Jill Vaughan and John Overvoorde.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Seed Co-operative competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Kings Seeds: One of the UK's longest-established seed companies offering a broad range of vegetable and flower seeds. Comparable as a UK-facing seed retailer, though it offers conventional as well as organic varieties and operates at substantially greater scale.
- Franchi Sementi: Long-established Italian heritage seed company offering a broad portfolio including organic varieties. Comparable as a European seed producer with heirloom and traditional variety focus, though operating at substantially larger scale and across multiple distribution channels.
- Vitalis Organic Seeds: Major European organic vegetable seed producer supplying professional growers globally. Comparable in the organic seed category but operates as a much larger commercial enterprise within the Enza Zaden group, focusing on professional rather than home-gardener channels.
Regional players
- Delfland Nurseries: UK's largest supplier of organic plug plants, producing 33 million plants per year. Comparable as a UK organic horticulture supplier in Seed Co-operative's broader ecosystem, though focused on plants rather than seeds and at significantly larger scale.
Direct peers
- Sativa Rheinau: Swiss biodynamic seed company specializing in organic and Demeter-certified open-pollinated varieties for professional and home growers. Comparable as a European biodynamic seed specialist with breeding programs and similar product philosophy.
- Seed Savers Exchange: US-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing heirloom and open-pollinated seeds. Highly comparable as a mission-driven organization focused on open-pollinated seed conservation, with a member-supported model analogous to Seed Co-operative's cooperative structure.
- Tamar Organics: UK-based supplier of organic vegetable, herb, and flower seeds. Comparable as a UK organic-focused seed retailer serving both amateur gardeners and small commercial growers through direct mail-order e-commerce.
- The Organic Gardening Catalogue: Long-running UK organic seed and garden supply catalogue offering certified organic vegetable, herb, and flower seeds. Comparable in the UK organic seed category with similar customer profile, though operates more as a multi-brand distributor.
- Bingenheimer Saatgut: German biodynamic seed producer operating a cooperative-like model with Demeter-certified open-pollinated seeds. Highly comparable as a European biodynamic seed cooperative with similar mission and product portfolio, though operating at larger scale and with broader geographic reach.
- Real Seeds: UK-based small-scale seed company offering open-pollinated vegetable and herb seeds for home gardeners and smallholders. Highly comparable as a domestic UK producer of non-hybrid seeds, with similar DTC e-commerce focus, though without the cooperative/biodynamic specialization.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Seed Co-operative social profiles
Digital presenceSeed Co-operative compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Seed Co-operative financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Seed Co-operative leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Seed Co-operative funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Seed Co-operative M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Seed Co-operative
What does Seed Co-operative do?
Seed Co-operative breeds, produces, and sells certified organic and biodynamic open-pollinated seeds for vegetables, herbs, flowers, and green manures, serving both home gardeners and professional organic growers across the UK and Ireland. The company operates from its Gosberton Bank Nursery facility where it handles seed cleaning, processing, testing, and storage, and distributes through its own e-commerce site, stockists, and a domestic grower network.
Is Seed Co-operative a public or private company?
Seed Co-operative is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Seed Co-operative founded?
Seed Co-operative was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Seed Co-operative based?
Seed Co-operative is headquartered in Gosberton, Spalding, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Seed Co-operative make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Seed and Plant Sales are the primary driver. The others are gift Vouchers and grower Network Payments.
Who are Seed Co-operative's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Kings Seeds, Franchi Sementi and Vitalis Organic Seeds. Delfland Nurseries is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Sativa Rheinau, Seed Savers Exchange, Tamar Organics, The Organic Gardening Catalogue, Bingenheimer Saatgut and Real Seeds.
Does Seed Co-operative have an API?
No public API is recorded for Seed Co-operative.
What industry is Seed Co-operative in?
Seed Co-operative's product category is Organic Agricultural Seeds. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAGAIAE, Open-Pollinated/Varietal Seed Multiplication, with a secondary code of AFABAKAH, Cover Crop Seed & Green Manure Inputs. Its NAICS code is 11142 and its SIC code is 100.