What Gramoflor does

Gramoflor GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned German substrate manufacturer headquartered in Vechta, Lower Saxony, operating production facilities in Vechta, Neuenkirchen-Vörden (Germany), and Moixent (Spain, opened 2021). The company produces peat-reduced and peat-free growing media for professional horticulture (Profisubstrate) and consumer potting soils (Hobbyerden), distributed across at least six European countries via a direct B2B field sales force with personal sales consultants and quote-based pricing. Approximately 100 employees work across Germany, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Greece, and Spain.

The company's core technology centers on proprietary peat substitution. Since 2018, Gramoflor has produced LIGNOFIBRE®, a quality wood fiber manufactured in-house via thermal-mechanical defibrillation (refiner technology) from certified regional wood chips, offered in five structural variants (coarse, standard, fine, hydro, Xtrafine+) with RAL quality certification and FiBL organic listing. Complementary peat substitutes include Coco Chips (crushed coconut shells, launched January 2025), gramoFLAKES (rice husks developed for the Spanish market), Cocopeat, and quality-assured Substratkompost. The portfolio supports peat substitution rates of 30–65% depending on product. Gramoflor participates in publicly funded R&D projects (NaProBio through 2024; BiToP through 2026) to validate biogas residues as next-generation peat substitutes.

Gramoflor operates on a B2B direct-sales model with quote-based pricing, freight-paid CPT delivery terms, and 14-day payment terms. Revenue is generated through one-time substrate sales to professional growers (ornamental plants, vegetables, berries, young plants, propagation) and through retail-channel hobby soils. The company markets through trade fair presence (IPM Essen annually), industry publications, LinkedIn, and a multilingual website. In October 2024 Gramoflor became the first substrate manufacturer focused on professional horticulture to obtain HORTICERT sustainability certification, covering both German production sites and positioning the company against tightening European peat reduction regulations.

Name

Gramoflor

Legal name

Gramoflor GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://gramoflor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1908

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Gramoflor is a German family-owned substrate manufacturer producing peat-reduced and peat-free growing media for professional horticulture and hobby gardeners across Europe, with proprietary LIGNOFIBRE® wood fiber technology and three production facilities in Germany and Spain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Horticultural Substrates and Growing Media

NAICS

Compost Manufacturing (325315)

SIC

Agricultural Chemicals (2870)

akta.pro primary industry

Lawn Nutrition & Biostimulants (Compost Tea, Humic/Fulvic, Microbes) (HSAIAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digestate & Compost Product Processing, Marketing & Distribution (Soil Amendments, Mulch) (EUAIAEAE)

Keywords

• Horticultural substrates
• Peat substitutes
• Professional growing media
• Wood fiber substrates
• Potting soil manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Vechta

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Substrates (Profisubstrate): High-performance substrates for professional horticulture including growing media, cultivation substrates, and specialty products. Sold primarily B2B through sales consultants with direct customer relationships. Products include berry substrates, propagation substrates, press-pot substrates, and peat-reduced formulations.
2. Hobby Soils (Hobbyerden): Consumer-grade potting soils and garden substrates for hobby gardeners, sold in various package sizes through retail channels. Products offered in professional quality for home garden use.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gramoflor manufactures and sells professional horticultural substrates (Profisubstrate) and consumer hobby soils (Hobbyerden), with a portfolio centered on peat-reduced and peat-free growing media. Core products include the proprietary LIGNOFIBRE® wood fiber line, Coco Chips, gramoFLAKES, Cocopeat, and quality-assured Substratkompost, combined into specialized substrates for ornamentals, vegetables, berries, propagation, and container cultivation. Sales are driven by direct personal sales consultants who advise growers on peat-reduction strategies and cultivation safety.

Product overview

Gramoflor is a substrate manufacturer offering professional substrates (Profisubstrate) for commercial horticulture and hobby potting soils (Hobbyerden) for home gardeners. The product portfolio centers on peat-reduced and peat-free substrate solutions with various sustainable raw materials including the proprietary wood fiber line LIGNOFIBRE® (with coarse and hydro variants), Coco Chips (coconut-based), gramoFLAKES (rice hull-based for Spain operations), Cocopeat, and Substratkompost. The company offers specialized products like Topf-Blueberry for blueberry container cultivation and BIO Presstopf for vegetable propagation. Supporting products include gramoMICRO-DEPOT for micronutrient delivery. The portfolio is unified by the goal of peat reduction while maintaining cultivation safety.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LIGNOFIBRE®: Proprietary quality wood fiber product line for peat replacement in substrates, produced since 2018 with five variants (coarse to Xtrafine+)
• gramoFLAKES
• Coco Chips
• gramoMICRO-DEPOT

Products and services

• Profisubstrate (Professional Substrates) High-performance substrates for professional horticulture including growing media, cultivation substrates, berry substrates, propagation substrates, press-pot substrates, and peat-reduced formulations for ornamental, vegetable, berry, and young plant producers.
• Hobbyerden (Hobby Soils) Consumer potting soils and garden substrates for hobby gardeners, produced to professional quality standards and sold through retail and garden-center channels in consumer packaging.
• LIGNOFIBRE® (wood fiber product line) Proprietary wood fiber peat substitute produced in-house since 2018 via refiner technology from certified regional wood chips, available in five variants (coarse, standard, fine, hydro, Xtrafine+) with RAL quality certification and FiBL organic listing. Sold as a peat-substitute ingredient for professional and hobby substrates.
• Coco Chips Renewable peat-substitute raw material made from shredded coconut shells, offering excellent coarse structure, structural stability, and sustained air capacity in substrates as a peat-free alternative to coarse white peat.
• gramoFLAKES Regional peat substitute raw material developed for the Spanish market, produced from rice husks (a by-product of Valencia rice cultivation) and capable of replacing up to 30% of peat in substrates.
• Topf-Blueberry (Art. 35172) Universal, heavily peat-reduced container substrate for blueberries with increased moisture retention. Contains 65% peat-substitute raw materials including Coco Chips, LIGNOFIBRE®, and Perlite, with pH adjusted below 5 for blueberries.
• BIO Presstopf (Art. 35174) Cultivation and propagation substrate for vegetable growing, specifically designed for pressed pots. Contains 30% peat substitute with Schwarztorf, LIGNOFIBRE®, and substrate compost, plus a Bio liquid fertilizer for rapid nitrogen availability.
• LIGNOFIBRE® hydro Superfine wood fiber variant of the LIGNOFIBRE® line offering 35% higher water absorption than conventional fine alternative raw materials, suitable for seeding, propagation, cuttings, and young plants as well as in peat-reduced substrates for pots and containers.
• LIGNOFIBRE® coarse Coarse variant of LIGNOFIBRE® wood fiber for substrates requiring coarse structure and good drainage properties.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% peat reduction achieved by multiple customers across various crop types
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Fachagentur für Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V (FNR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024FNR serves as project carrier for the BiToP (Bioraffinationsverfahren zur Gärrestaufbereitung mit dem Ziel der Gewinnung von Torfersatzstoffen unter Praxisbedingungen) project. Gramoflor participates in this BMEL-funded project to validate the horticultural suitability of biogas residues (NutriSep-TES) as peat substitutes under practical conditions at biogas facilities.
• 3N Kompetenzzentrum NiedersachsencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 20223N Kompetenzzentrum led the NaProBio project (Nachhaltige Produktion von Biogas) in which Gramoflor participated from June 2022 to December 2024 examining horticultural suitability of biogas residues. 3N also holds project leadership for the BiToP follow-up project. Located in Lower Saxony, Germany.
• Meo Carbon Solutions GmbH (MCS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMCS was commissioned by BMEL (Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft) for the development and implementation of the HORTICERT international certification system for sustainability criteria of peat substitutes and growing media.
• Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (BMEL)flagshipOthersBMEL initiated the HORTICERT certification system under the Climate Protection Plan 2050 and Peat Reduction Strategy. Commissioned Meo Carbon Solutions GmbH for development and implementation, with FNR as project carrier.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Florentaise: French manufacturer specializing in peat-free and peat-reduced growing media using composted green waste and other organic inputs. Closely comparable to Gramoflor in its professional-horticulture focus and peat-substitute technology positioning, with overlapping European customer base.
• Pindstrup Mosebrug: Danish peat producer and substrate manufacturer with growing peat-reduced product lines serving European professional horticulture. Comparable to Gramoflor in transitioning from peat toward renewable substrates and competing for the same professional-horticulture customer base.
• Hawita Gruppe: German peat and substrate producer serving professional horticulture and consumer markets with a comparable product mix of growing media, hobby soils, and specialty substrates. Directly competes with Gramoflor in German-speaking markets and on peat-reduction strategies.
• Pelemix: Spanish-headquartered specialist in coconut coir-based substrates and growing media, including Coco Chips and coir-blend products. Directly comparable to Gramoflor's Coco Chips offering and competing in the same Iberian and Mediterranean professional-horticulture segments.
• Stender AG: German substrate manufacturer producing professional growing media, propagation substrates, and peat-reduced mixes for horticultural nurseries. Directly comparable in product range and customer segments, with overlapping presence in Northern European horticulture.
• BVB Substrates: Dutch substrate manufacturer focused on peat-reduced and peat-free growing media for professional horticulture across Northwestern Europe. Directly comparable in product strategy (peat substitution) and customer segments, competing for the same Dutch and German professional growers.
• Jiffy Group: Norwegian/Dutch producer of growing media, propagation substrates, and container systems including peat-reduced and coir-based products. Comparable to Gramoflor in serving professional horticulture with sustainable substrate alternatives across European and global markets.

Regional players

• Lambert Peat Moss: Canadian peat producer supplying professional horticulture in North America and Europe with peat-based and peat-reduced substrates. Comparable substrate-product portfolio and professional-horticulture customer base, but primarily serving North American markets where Gramoflor does not operate.

Broad incumbents

• Klasmann-Deilmann: Germany's largest substrate manufacturer with the broadest European footprint and a long-established peat-and-substrate portfolio. Directly comparable to Gramoflor as a German-based substrate maker serving professional horticulture, but at materially greater scale across multiple product categories and geographies.
• Premier Tech: Canadian-based global manufacturer of peat, growing media, and peat-substitute products with significant European presence through acquisitions. Comparable as a broad substrate incumbent serving professional horticulture with a portfolio that increasingly emphasizes peat-reduction, but at much larger scale than Gramoflor.

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gramoflor-gmbh-&-co.-kg

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Gramoflor