What CRAiLAR does

CRAiLAR was founded in 1998 as a public cleantech company (otcbb:CRLRQ) headquartered in Victoria, Canada, operating under the parent entity Naturally Advanced Technologies. The operational fibre business has been rebranded and operates as Bast Fibre Technologies Inc., a privately held Canadian corporation (with a previously known name of CRAiLAR), producing the sero™ line of technical natural fibre derived from hemp and flax.

Bast Fibre Technologies sells sero™ — a proprietary, processed natural bast fibre — to consumer-product manufacturers on a B2B basis. Its core technology is BFT Processing, which the company describes as a proprietary method that cleans, individualizes, and softens raw hemp and flax fibre to meet industry-specific technical specifications. The company positions its offering within a soil-to-soil regenerative system spanning sustainable agriculture, fibre separation, proprietary processing, partner product manufacturing, and natural composting.

The business model is direct B2B sales of fibre inputs integrated into partner manufacturing lines across personal care (diapers, baby wipes, intimate care), commercial and industrial cleaning (wipes), cosmetic care, and building products. No public pricing is disclosed. The company has secured a strategic investment from Ahlström Capital (October 2022) and operates with a small team (11-50 employees). Marketing is conducted through a corporate website, blog, newsletter, and newsroom; distribution is achieved exclusively through direct enterprise partnerships with manufacturers that incorporate sero™ into their finished products.

Name

CRAiLAR

Legal name

Bast Fibre Technologies Inc.

Website

https://crailar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CRAiLAR (operating as Bast Fibre Technologies Inc.) is a Canadian fibre-processing company that sells sero™, a proprietary processed hemp and flax fibre, B2B to consumer-product manufacturers for diapers, wipes, intimate care, cosmetics, and building products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural Fibre Materials

NAICS

Fiber, Yarn, and Thread Mills (31311)

SIC

Textile Mill Products (2200)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural Fiber Processing (Cotton/Wool/Flax/Hemp) (IMAOAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hygiene Paper Raw Materials & Components (Pulp, SAP, Nonwovens, Elastics, Adhesives, Fragrances) (IMAMAGAI), Field-Retted & Bast Fiber Production (Flax/Hemp Retting-Oriented Farming) (AFAGAFAH)

Keywords

• Natural fibre processing
• Hemp fibre materials
• Bast fibre technology
• Sustainable nonwoven fibres
• Regenerative fibre manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Victoria

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Technical Natural Fibre Sales: B2B sales of sero™ technical natural hemp and flax fibre to consumer product manufacturers for use in making sustainable products such as diapers, wipes, intimate care products, and building materials.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CRAiLAR (Bast Fibre Technologies) produces and sells sero™ technical natural hemp and flax fibre, a processed bast fibre for use in consumer products such as diapers, baby wipes, intimate care pads, cosmetic care items, commercial cleaning wipes, and building materials. The fibre is generated through proprietary BFT Processing technology that cleans, individualizes, and softens raw bast fibre to meet industry-specific performance requirements, positioned as a plastic-replacing, compostable alternative within a soil-to-soil regenerative system.

Product overview

Bast Fibre Technologies offers a single core product line: sero™ technical natural fibre, a hemp-based material derived from annually renewable plants. The sero™ fibre is processed through the company's proprietary BFT Processing technology and enables downstream product manufacturing across multiple applications including diapers, commercial wipes, intimate care, baby wipes, cleaning wipes, cosmetic care, building products, and personal care. The company positions its offering within a regenerative agriculture system (SOIL TO SOIL) that enables renewable product lifecycles by replacing plastic with natural fibre.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• sero™: Technical natural hemp fibre brand used in consumer products including diapers, baby wipes, cleaning wipes, intimate care pads, cosmetic care products, and building materials

Products and services

• sero™ technical natural hemp fibre sero™ is a technical natural hemp and flax fibre produced through proprietary BFT Processing technology that cleans, individualizes, and softens raw bast fibre to meet industry-specific requirements. It is sold B2B to consumer product manufacturers for use in diapers, baby wipes, intimate care pads, cosmetic care pads, commercial cleaning wipes, personal care wipes, and building materials as a plastic-replacing, compostable input.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Lenzing AG: Austrian cellulosic-fibre (Tencel/Lyocell/Modal) incumbent with global hygiene and textile customers; competes with bast fibres as a sustainable nonwoven input at scale.
• Aditya Birla / Birla Cellulose: Global cellulosic-fibre conglomerate with integrated pulp-to-fibre operations; broader incumbent whose lyocell viscose offerings compete with bast fibres for hygiene sustainability mandates.
• Sateri: World's largest viscose/lyocell producer with substantial hygiene-end-market exposure; broader incumbent in the natural-fibre-for-nonwovens space where BFT competes for sustainability-mandated brand budgets.
• UPM Biofibrils / UPM-Kymmene: Finnish forest-fibre major developing cellulose-based textiles and biochemicals; broader incumbent with strategic adjacency to Ahlström's forest-fibre sphere and overlapping regenerative-material positioning.

Emerging players

• Canopy (formerly H1Empyre / Pure Plant Fibre): Emerging Canadian hemp-fibre processor with parallel regenerative-agriculture positioning; partial overlap in feedstock processing and US/Canadian personal-care customer pipelines.
• Natural Fiber Solutions Inc. (NFSI): Emerging US bast-fibre processor targeting nonwoven and composite applications with similar sustainability-led value proposition; comparable emerging player addressing overlapping plastic-replacement applications.

Direct peers

• Procotex: Belgian processor of flax and hemp technical fibres for nonwovens, composites, and insulation; competes head-to-head with sero™ in bast-fibre nonwovens for personal care and building products.
• Ecofiber Industries: Australian hemp bast-fibre processor serving nonwovens, geotextiles, and building products; closest comparable by process technology, feedstock, and target verticals.
• HempFlax: One of Europe's largest industrial hemp fibre processors supplying nonwovens, automotive, and construction markets; directly comparable fibre-processing business with similar end-market focus.
• Kelheim Fibres: German specialty viscose-fibre producer serving hygiene and technical-textile end markets; comparable functional role as a fibre-innovation supplier to nonwoven converters.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CRAiLAR

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors1 record

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 CRAiLAR