What Ulmer Verlag does

Verlag Eugen Ulmer (trading as Ulmer Verlag) is a family-owned German specialist publishing house founded in 1868 and headquartered in Stuttgart. The company publishes books, e-books, and professional journals across tightly clustered verticals — gardening and horticulture, agriculture and livestock, viniculture, hunting and forestry, nature, cooking and baking, and health — operating under a single Kommanditgesellschaft (KG) legal entity (Eugen Ulmer KG, HRA 581 Stuttgart) managed by Matthias Ulmer (Komplementär) and Hans Oppermann. Its active catalog comprises over 1,800 deliverable book titles and 14+ professional journals (e.g., DEGA GRÜNER MARKT, Gartenpraxis, DGS Magazin, DEGA GALABAU, Rebe & Wein) on recurring annual subscriptions. The business carries no proprietary technology layer beyond a standard web stack (Cloudflare, Matomo, Google Analytics, PayPal/SEPA, Inxmail email, Adobe Fonts).

The company earns revenue through four streams: one-time book and e-book unit sales (PDF/EPUB), recurring journal subscriptions sold primarily to professional readers, fee-based seminars and online courses via Ulmer Akademie (e.g., Lernraum Galabau Werker, Tierseuchenprävention Schwein), and wholesale sales to authorized trade booksellers through a password-protected Händlershop. Book pricing is governed by the German Buchpreisbindungsgesetz (fixed retail price), with print titles priced between approximately €9.95 and €55. Distribution to retail is handled through a core partnership with VVA (Vereinigte Verlagsauslieferung), and Book-on-Demand printing extends catalog depth for low-velocity titles.

Ulmer serves a fragmented customer base spanning consumer hobbyists (home cooks, gardeners), students in agriculture and horticulture programs, and professional practitioners (commercial gardeners/landscapers, farmers, foresters, hunters, veterinarians). Its geographic footprint is centered on the DACH region — Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — with the BoD line restricted to DE/AT delivery. The company employs between 11 and 50 staff, has no disclosed revenue, no external funding, and no parent company; it is controlled and operated by the founding Ulmer family alongside co-director Oppermann. Recent strategic activity is concentrated on new product launches (Balkonkraftwerk 2025, Knusperlecker and Gartenkalender 2027 in 2026, Rinderkrankheiten 2024) and continued investment in the Ulmer Akademie professional education platform.

Name

Ulmer Verlag

Legal name

Eugen Ulmer KG

Website

https://ulmer.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1868

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Verlag Eugen Ulmer is a family-owned German specialist publisher (founded 1868, Stuttgart) producing 1,800+ books, e-books, and 14+ professional journals on gardening, horticulture, agriculture, and cooking for consumers, students, and trade professionals across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialist Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Book Publishers (51313), Other Publishers (51319)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

Keywords

• Specialist book publishing
• Gardening and horticulture books
• Agricultural publishing
• Professional trade journals
• Professional development courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Stuttgart

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Physical book sales through online shop and dealer portal. One-time purchase model with fixed pricing under German Buchpreisbindungsgesetz (book price fixing law). Includes Book on Demand (BoD) titles printed upon order.
2. E-book Sales: Digital e-book sales in PDF and EPUB formats, downloadable upon purchase through customer account.
3. Magazine Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from 14+ professional journals including DEGA GRÜNER MARKT, Gartenpraxis, DGS Magazin, DEGA GALABAU, Rebe & Wein, and others.
4. Seminars and Courses: Fee-based seminars and online courses through Ulmer Akademie, including professional development courses for garden landscaping (Galabau) and animal husbandry.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ulmer Verlag is a German specialist publishing house that publishes and sells physical books, e-books, and professional journals on gardening, horticulture, agriculture, cooking, nature, animal husbandry, and forestry. The company sells directly to consumers through its ulmer.de online shop and to authorized booksellers via a dealer portal, and also offers recurring subscriptions to 14+ industry journals and fee-based seminars/courses through Ulmer Akademie.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ulmer Akademie: Seminar and course offerings from the publisher
• Ulmer Onlineshop
• Ulmer Händlershop

Products and services

• Physical and Digital Books (Bücher & E-Books) Over 1,800 specialist book titles covering gardening, horticulture, agriculture, cooking, nature, animals, forestry, and vocational training, distributed as physical books and e-books in PDF and EPUB formats. Sold directly to individual consumers and e-book readers via the ulmer.de online shop and to authorized dealers via the Händlershop.
• Professional Journals (Zeitschriften) 14+ recurring professional journals covering gardening, horticulture, landscaping, viniculture, and related industries, sold via annual subscriptions to professional readers.
• Ulmer Akademie Seminars and Courses Fee-based seminars and online courses delivered through Ulmer Akademie, including the Lernraum Galabau Werker course and online training for animal disease prevention (Tierseuchenprävention Schwein), targeting garden landscaping professionals and animal husbandry practitioners.
• Trade Dealer Portal (Händlershop) Password-protected B2B ordering portal for authorized booksellers and retailers, offering wholesale pricing on Ulmer Verlag's catalog with automatic discount calculations and trade license verification.
• Ulmers Gartenkalender 2027 Annual garden calendar combining moon-phase-based sowing dates, recipe ideas, and sowing/planting/harvesting tables for hobbyist gardeners; sells as a stand-alone published product on the Ulmer online shop.
• Rinderkrankheiten – Rinder gesund halten Comprehensive guide for cattle health management covering calf rearing (Kälberaufzucht), claw health (Klauengesundheit), and overall herd health preservation, aimed at farmers and animal husbandry professionals.
• Balkonkraftwerk Guide for balcony solar installations (Balkonkraftwerk) priced at €18, targeting consumer readers interested in small-scale home solar energy and DIY sustainability projects.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration18 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Trusted ShopsminorOthersE-commerce trust and customer review partnership. Trusted Shops badge provides buyer protection and rating system for online shop credibility.
• VVA (Vereinigte Verlagsauslieferung)coreOthersCentral distribution partner handling logistics and fulfillment for book returns and deliveries. Named as primary contact for book shipments and returns.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Thorbecke Verlag: German publisher in the Jan Thorbecke / Verlagsgruppe Patmos group focused on culture, nature, and regional themes. Adjacent publisher sharing the German-language nature/culture niche but with stronger regional and cultural emphasis rather than gardening.

Emerging players

• W. Kohlhammer Verlag: German academic and specialist publisher with agriculture, social sciences, and education titles. Comparable as a German-language specialist publisher serving agriculture, forestry, and vocational education markets with overlaps in Ulmer's Studium/Ausbildung segments.
• Stiftung Warentest: Independent German consumer testing foundation publishing books, magazines, and digital content on health, food, gardening, and home. Comparable on the consumer advisory side of gardening and cooking content, with overlapping audience of hobbyist German readers.

Direct peers

• Gräfe und Unzer Verlag: Major German cookbook and lifestyle publisher (GU) with strong gardening and cooking lists. Directly comparable as a German-language trade publisher operating in the same Essen & Trinken and Pflanzen & Garten categories that anchor Ulmer's catalog.
• BLV Buchverlag (now part of GRÄFE UNZER): Historic German gardening and nature publisher (BLV) now under Gräfe und Unzer. Closely overlaps Ulmer's Pflanzen & Garten and Natur categories and competes for the same gardening hobbyist readership in DACH.
• Callwey Verlag: German specialty publisher covering architecture, design, garden, and lifestyle topics. Comparable as a German-language specialty book publisher with garden/design category overlap and a similar mid-sized independent operating model.
• Franckh-Kosmos Verlagsgesellschaft: German publisher specializing in nature, gardening, animals, and lifestyle non-fiction, plus games and children's books. Directly comparable as a Stuttgart-based, family-owned specialist publisher with overlapping gardening and nature titles and similar DACH distribution model.
• Landwirtschaftsverlag Münster: German agricultural publisher producing trade journals and books for farmers, foresters, and rural professionals. Comparable to Ulmer's agriculture and forestry professional segments and B2B journal subscription model (e.g., top agrar).

Regional players

• Haupt Verlag: Swiss independent publisher specializing in nature, garden, and sustainability titles, plus academic works. Comparable in gardening/nature focus and editorial mission but primarily serves the Swiss market rather than directly competing across DACH.

Broad incumbents

• Penguin Random House Germany (Verlagsgruppe Random House): Largest German-language trade publisher with broad gardening, cooking, and lifestyle imprints. Comparable as a competitor for shelf space, authors, and readers across Ulmer's gardening and food categories, but operates as a broad incumbent rather than a specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@verlageugenulmer
• Facebookfacebook.com/VerlagEugenUlmer
• Instagraminstagram.com/ulmerverlag
• Xx.com/ulmerverlag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ulmer-verlag

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 Ulmer Verlag