What Maria Granel does

Maria Granel is a privately held zero-waste biological bulk food retailer founded in 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal, by Eunice and Eduardo. The company operates two physical stores in the Alvalade and Campo de Ourique neighborhoods of Lisbon and a nationwide e-commerce platform that ships plastic-free using reused and 100% compostable packaging. Its core offering is unpackaged organic staples — cereals, legumes, nuts, spices, teas, superfoods, and dried fruits — sold by weight into customer-supplied or store-supplied reusable containers, with SATIVA and Kiwa Bio biological certifications verifying organic provenance. The product range extends beyond food into zero-waste accessories, personal hygiene items, ecological toys, books, gift cards, and curated DIY kits priced between €3.60 and €39.95.

Revenue is generated through five streams: in-store retail, direct-to-consumer e-commerce, B2B wholesale of biological ingredients to restaurants and food-service buyers, a resale program in which Maria Granel acts as the official Portuguese distributor for the French brand Ecodis and the Belgian brand Bambaw, and gift card sales. Distribution occurs through the two Lisbon stores, the proprietary website, the Médis Marketplace listing, and a B2B partner network with pickup or CTT shipping. Unit pricing is per-weight (e.g., oats €3.80/kg, coffee €55/kg, chickpeas €5.50/kg), with free shipping above €65 for mainland home delivery and above €55 for CTT lockers.

The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding and operates with approximately 6 employees. It has built a content and community layer — a 35+ episode podcast, blog, workshops, the "Be a (Z)Hero" community program, the founder-authored book "Desafio Zero", and BCSD Portugal membership — that functions as a category-building moat in the Portuguese zero-waste movement. Customers include individual eco-conscious urban consumers (primary), restaurants and food-service businesses sourcing biological ingredients, and resale partner businesses distributing Ecodis and Bambaw eco-products.

Name

Maria Granel

Legal name

Maria Granel

Website

https://mariagranel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Zero Waste Grocery Retail

NAICS

Specialty Food Retailers (4452)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro primary industry

Bulk Food & Refill Stores (Package-Free/Zero-Waste) (CRAHAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online Bulk & Pantry Staples Retail (CRAHAIAG), Organic Bulk Foods, Grains & Nuts Wholesale (AFAIAJAH)

Keywords

• Zero waste retail
• Bulk organic foods
• Sustainable consumer goods
• Eco-friendly accessories
• Biological grocery store

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Physical Retail Store Sales: Revenue from sales of biological bulk foods and zero waste accessories in two physical store locations in Lisbon.
2. E-commerce Online Sales: Online store sales with shipping across Portugal. Free shipping thresholds: €65 for mainland home delivery, €55 for CTT locker collection.
3. Resale/Distribution Partnerships: Distribution of Ecodis and Bambaw eco-product brands to business partners across Portugal. Encompasses catalog sales and order fulfillment to partner companies.
4. Gift Cards: Sale of gift cards (Cartões Presente) for gifting sustainable lifestyle products.
5. DIY Kits and Curated Gift Sets: Sale of curated experience kits (granola kits, chocolate kits, spice kits, seasonal gift sets) with biological ingredients and sustainable accessories.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Maria Granel is a Lisbon-based zero-waste retailer selling unpackaged biological (organic) bulk foods—including cereals, legumes, nuts, spices, teas, and superfoods—alongside sustainable lifestyle accessories such as reusable bottles, bamboo toothbrushes, lunch boxes, and shopping bags. Products are sold by weight, with customers either bringing their own containers or using compostable packaging. The company operates two physical stores in Lisbon (Alvalade and Campo de Ourique) and a nationwide e-commerce site with plastic-free shipping.

Product overview

Maria Granel is a zero waste biological bulk food store operating both physical retail locations (Alvalade and Campo de Ourique in Lisbon) and an online e-commerce platform. The core offering consists of unpackaged organic bulk foods including cereals, legumes, nuts, spices, teas, and superfoods, complemented by zero waste lifestyle products such as reusable accessories, personal hygiene items, ecological toys, and DIY experience kits. The company also offers services including a podcast, resale program for businesses, workshops, and gift cards. The product portfolio spans multiple categories including food, household, hygiene, toys, and books, unified by the zero waste and organic principles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bulk Organic Foods Unpackaged biological (organic) bulk foods sold by weight, including cereals, pseudocereals, legumes, nuts, spices, teas, superfoods, dried fruits, and coffee. Customers bring reusable containers or purchase compostable bags.
• Zero Waste Accessories
• DIY Kits
• Hygiene and Cosmetics
• Books
• Ecological Toys
• On the Go Products
• Gift Cards
• Podcast Maria Granel
• Resale/Distribution Program B2B program for partner businesses to resell Maria Granel's product range, including its official Portuguese distribution of Ecodis (France) and Bambaw (Belgium) eco-product brands. Orders can be picked up in the Campo de Ourique store or shipped via CTT nationwide or electric courier in Greater Lisbon.

Named customers3 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

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ecodis (France)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2019Official Portuguese distributor for Ecodis eco-products including reusable cotton bags for bulk shopping. Ecodis has been in the market since 2000, commits 0.5% of annual profits to social projects, and neutralizes 100% of CO2 emissions. Hundreds of eco-product SKUs available.
• Bambaw (Belgium)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2019Official Portuguese distributor for Bambaw eco-products including stainless steel water bottles and lunchboxes. Founded in 2015 by twin brothers Max and Augustin who were motivated by plastic pollution awareness. Products made from bamboo and stainless steel with carbon-neutral production.
• NatursolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFamily business founded in 2012 by Nelson Santos, producing artisan biological biscuits and baked goods in Ferrel, Peniche. Produces Beijinhos de Alfarroba, biscoitos de cacau e agave, and biscoitos de cenoura e limão. All products handmade with organic ingredients from Portuguese agriculture.
• Quinta da FornalhacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFamily farm in Castro Marim, Algarve, with 250-year history. Certified biological since 2010. Produces fig preserves and fig truffles sold in Maria Granel stores. Farm practices regenerative agriculture and permaculture principles. 35 hectares with 12 hectares of Mediterranean organic orchards.
• Bam&BoocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPortuguese bamboo toothbrush and hygiene products company founded in 2017. Produces bamboo toothbrushes (adult and children), toothpaste, dental floss, bamboo toothbrush holders, and cotton buds. Products certified Climate Neutral by Climate Partner. Plants one tree per day through Plantar Uma Árvore partnership.
• Luffas FTminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFamily business in Monte Bois, Alcobaça producing Portuguese luffas (loofah sponges). Started during 2020 pandemic. Artisanal production from planting (spring) to harvest (autumn) with manual peeling and sun drying.
• Casa do BosquecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPortuguese vegan chocolate company founded in 2014 producing raw carob chocolates. Awarded Menção Honrosa (Honorable Mention) at Food & Nutrition Awards 2017 in Product Innovation category. Products include raw carob chocolate bars with various flavors. Delivers products in paper packaging for bulk display in stores.
• Plantar Uma ÁrvoreminorOthersEnvironmental organization partnered with Bam&Boo for tree planting to compensate carbon emissions from deliveries. Approximately 365 trees planted annually.
• Climate PartnerminorOthersCertification body that provides carbon offset calculation and certification for Bam&Boo products, ensuring Climate Neutral status.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bulk Refiller: UK-based zero-waste bulk food retailer with online nationwide delivery and refill products. Directly comparable as a digitally-led zero-waste bulk food specialist, though operating in a different geography.
• Biocoop: France-origin cooperative network of organic retailers with presence in Portugal. Comparable as a specialty bio grocery concept serving similar eco-conscious consumers, though at materially larger scale and with packaged rather than unpackaged bulk retail.
• Celeiro: Portuguese specialty organic and natural foods retailer with physical stores and e-commerce. Comparable because it competes for the same eco-conscious urban Portuguese consumer seeking biological and natural foods, although with a broader packaged assortment rather than a pure bulk/zero-waste model.
• The Zero Waste Shop: UK-based zero-waste retailer combining physical refill locations with online bulk and eco-products. Highly comparable business model — bulk biological foods sold by weight without packaging — useful peer for unit economics and refill-retail benchmark.
• Go Natural: Portuguese bio and natural products retailer operating both physical stores and an online channel. Directly comparable in customer overlap (Lisbon-based eco-conscious consumers), biological product mix, and multi-channel retail structure, though without the zero-waste unpackaged positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Lush Cosmetics: Global cosmetics brand built on naked/packaging-free personal care products. Adjacent to Maria Granel's zero-waste accessories and hygiene lines (solid shampoos, soaps, bamboo brushes) and serves overlapping sustainability-minded consumers.
• Pingo Doce Bio: Mainstream Portuguese grocery banner (Jerónimo Martins) with an expanding organic and sustainable assortment. Adjacent competitor for the Portuguese biological food basket, but without the unpackaged refill model that defines Maria Granel.
• Continente Bio: Mainstream Portuguese hypermarket chain (Sonae MC) with a dedicated organic and bulk range. Comparable as it overlaps on bulk/biological grocery demand in Portugal, but operates at massive scale and as part of a full-line grocery portfolio rather than a zero-waste specialist.

Regional players

• Original Unverpackt: German zero-waste bulk food retailer pioneering the package-free grocery format in Berlin. Conceptually near-identical to Maria Granel's core offering, but operates exclusively in Germany and therefore does not directly compete in Portugal.

Emerging players

• Bam&Boo: Portuguese bamboo toothbrush and oral care brand with a Climate Neutral certified product line. Already a Maria Granel supplier/partner, and a useful comparable for the Portuguese zero-waste hygiene category it operates in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCxXMj7NA9E96UXGrw7qScWQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/mariagranel.lx
• Instagraminstagram.com/mariagranel.lx
• Pinterestpinterest.pt/mariagranel.lx/pins
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maria-granel

Compliance2 records

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 Maria Granel