arl.

What arl. does

arl. (legal name: Analytical Research Laboratories Limited) is a New Zealand-based agricultural and horticultural analytical laboratory founded in 1981 in Hawke's Bay and now operating from a purpose-built facility in Rolleston, Canterbury, opened in 2025. The company provides IANZ-accredited (ISO 17025) testing services across four primary categories — soil, plant, feed, and fertiliser — with a broad SKU portfolio spanning roughly 30 named tests including Basic and Cropping Soil Analysis, Standard and Comprehensive Pasture Analysis, Plant Petiole Analysis, Sap Analysis, Apple Mineral Analysis, Silage and Maize Silage Analysis, Manure and Compost Analysis, and a suite of add-on tests for heavy metals, trace elements, anion storage capacity, and herbicide residues. ARL is the only laboratory in New Zealand to offer plant sap testing domestically, a service previously requiring international sample shipping.

The company's customer base consists of NZ farmers and growers, agronomists and consultants, and researchers, served through a sales-led, direct-to-customer model combining online kit ordering (arllab.co.nz and resupply.co.nz), phone-based inside sales (0800 100 668), and physical sample drop-off at the Rolleston lab. Pricing is per-test on a pay-as-you-go basis with invoicing on the 20th of the month following service; Ravensdown shareholders receive a 10% discount and direct-debit payers an additional 1.5%. ARL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ravensdown Limited, a major New Zealand agricultural cooperative, which provides embedded distribution into the cooperative's farmer-shareholder base and integration with Ravensdown's online services for result delivery. Revenue is generated entirely from laboratory testing services within New Zealand, with no disclosed international operations, no external funding rounds, and no M&A activity in the available record.

Name

arl.

Legal name

Analytical Research Laboratories Limited

Website

https://arllab.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

arl. is a New Zealand IANZ-accredited (ISO 17025) agricultural analytical laboratory providing soil, plant, feed, and fertiliser testing services to farmers, growers, agronomists, and researchers, and is the only NZ provider of domestic plant sap testing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Laboratory Testing Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Regulatory Compliance Testing for Farms (Runoff, Nutrient Management, Wastewater) (AFACAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Laboratory Analysis Services (Wet Chemistry, Microbiology for Grains) (AFAOAMAJ), Food Testing Laboratories (Microbiological, Chemical, Allergen) (AFALAAAA)

Keywords

• Agricultural laboratory testing
• Soil nutrient analysis
• Plant tissue analysis
• Feed quality testing
• Fertiliser analysis services

Headquarters

HQ city

Onekawa

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Testing Services: ARL generates revenue through providing analytical testing services for soil, plant, feed, and fertiliser samples. Prices are quoted per test or at standard charges. Sample kits are ordered online and results are delivered after payment. Ravensdown shareholders receive a 10% discount and direct debit payers receive an additional 1.5% discount.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Analytical Research Laboratories (arl.) provides IANZ-accredited laboratory testing of soil, plant tissue, feed, and fertiliser samples for New Zealand farmers, growers, agronomists, and researchers. The laboratory offers routine and specialised tests (including the only plant sap testing service in NZ) along with an online resupply store for sample containers and consumables, supported by a nationwide courier sample collection network.

Product overview

ARL offers a comprehensive suite of agricultural laboratory testing services in New Zealand. The core portfolio includes soil testing services (Basic Soil Analysis, Pasture Soil Analysis, Cropping Soil Analysis), plant testing services (Basic Plant Analysis, Standard Pasture Analysis, Clover/Brassica/Legume Analysis, Comprehensive Pasture Analysis, Plant Petiole Analysis, Potato Petiole Analysis), feed testing services (Fresh Feed Analysis, Silage Analysis, Maize Silage Analysis, Concentrates/Root Crops Analysis, Dry Matter Only), and specialty testing (Sap Analysis – exclusive to ARL in New Zealand, Apple Mineral Analysis). The company also provides numerous extra/add-on tests including Mineral N, Potentially Mineralisable Nitrogen, Anion Storage Capacity, Organic Matter, Trace Elements, and Heavy Metals testing. Testing kits and sample submission services are available for farmers, growers, agronomists, and researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Basic Soil Test Standard soil nutrient testing service for New Zealand farmers, growers, and agronomists informing fertiliser and nutrient management decisions.
• Soil Test + N-Min Soil testing service that includes nitrogen mineralisation (N-Min) analysis, providing deeper insight into soil nitrogen supply for cropping and pastoral systems.
• Stress Test Specialised soil testing service used to diagnose nutrient stress conditions in soils, supporting targeted agronomic intervention.
• Plant Sap Test Plant sap analytical service — the only plant sap testing capability in New Zealand — providing real-time nutrient status information for in-season crop management.
• Broadleaf Weed Test Specialised plant/weed analytical service for broadleaf weed samples, supporting pasture and crop weed management.
• Gorse Weed Test Specialised weed analytical service for gorse samples, supporting agricultural and biosecurity management decisions.
• Feed Test (DRP — Dry matter, Protein, Ash) Feed quality testing service measuring dry matter, protein, and ash content (DRP) of feed samples for farmers, nutritionists, and feed suppliers.
• APAL Fertiliser Analysis Fertiliser analytical service using the APAL (Association of Public Analysts Laboratories) method, providing composition analysis of fertiliser products.
• CERTEX Fertiliser Analysis Fertiliser analytical service using the CERTEX method, providing an alternative certified composition analysis of fertiliser products.
• Online Resupply Store Online store providing sample containers, kits, and related consumables for customers who submit soil, plant, feed, or fertiliser samples to the laboratory.

Quantifiable outcome

• Results typically delivered within 4-10 days of sample receipt
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ravensdown LimitedcoreOthersARL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ravensdown Limited. Ravensdown is a major New Zealand agricultural co-operative. ARL's terms of engagement incorporate Ravensdown's standard terms of trade. Ravensdown shareholders receive a 10% discount on ARL services. Data may be shared with Ravensdown group companies for service provision and business development purposes.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ALS Global: International testing services provider with food, environmental, and life sciences testing operations in New Zealand — overlaps with ARL on environmental compliance and food chain testing while serving a far broader geographic and industry footprint.
• Eurofins: Global testing, inspection and certification giant with established New Zealand operations covering agricultural, food, and environmental testing — competing for larger enterprise and multi-national accounts in the same ag-testing category as ARL but with a much broader geographic footprint.
• SGS: World-leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company operating in New Zealand across agricultural, food, and environmental verticals — a broad incumbent whose commodity and food testing capabilities overlap with ARL's portfolio for large multi-national customers.
• Bureau Veritas: Global testing, inspection and certification company with agri-food and commodity laboratory services in the Australasian market — competes for testing contracts involving agricultural commodities, food chain compliance, and environmental analysis.

Direct peers

• Hill Laboratories: New Zealand's largest independent analytical testing laboratory, offering a competing suite of soil, plant tissue, feed, water and food testing services to farmers, growers, and agronomists — directly overlapping ARL's core offering and SMB customer base within the same country.

Others

• AgResearch: New Zealand Crown Research Institute conducting pasture, animal, and soil research with associated analytical capabilities — adjacent rather than directly competitive, but provides research-grade testing services that occasionally intersect with ARL's research client work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@agnition.ventures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/analytical-research-laboratory-ltd

Compliance2 records

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 arl.