Pico-GRO

What Pico-GRO does

PicoGro is a South African specialty agricultural producer founded in 1995, headquartered on a 7-8 hectare farm in Midrand, Gauteng. The company cultivates edible flowers (pansies, violas, calendulas, carnations, nasturtiums), specialty leaves, microgreens, herbs, and miniature 'elfin' vegetables — offering 120+ individual varieties. Its core technical capability is the use of environmental manipulation techniques to extend seasonal availability and produce rare, atypical colors in edible plants, a craft developed over three decades. Products are hand-harvested daily and shipped via air freight to professional chefs worldwide, with a 36-48 hour order-to-fulfillment cycle.

The company operates a multi-channel business model. Its primary revenue stream is direct B2B export sales to professional chefs across global fine-dining markets. In South Africa, it distributes through Woolworths retail grocery aisles, reaching home cooks and food enthusiasts. More recently, the company has opened its farm to consumers via 'Pleasure Picking Forages' — guided foraging tours — adding an experiential direct-to-consumer revenue layer. Marketing is content-driven through a blog, Instagram, and Facebook, emphasizing culinary inspiration and farm storytelling. Pricing is opaque and contact-based ([email protected]), with no public list, consistent with a B2B premium supply relationship.

PicoGro is privately held, founder-owned, with no institutional investors or parent company disclosed. Revenue and funding data are not publicly available. The firm employs 110-180 people (sources differ between About page and FAQs). Its only registered IP is the PicoGro® trademark. There is no software, app, or digital product offering — the business is a pure-play physical agricultural operation.

Name

Pico-GRO

Legal name

PicoGro

Website

https://picogro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PicoGro is a South African specialty agricultural producer founded in 1995 that cultivates and exports 120+ varieties of edible flowers, specialty leaves, microgreens, herbs, and elfin vegetables to professional chefs globally, with retail distribution through Woolworths South Africa and on-site farm foraging experiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Edible Horticulture

NAICS

Food Crops Grown Under Cover (11141), Other Food Crops Grown Under Cover (111419), Floriculture Production (111422)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Herb Farming (Basil, Parsley, Cilantro, Mint, Dill) (AFAGADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Greenhouse Vegetable Production (Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Leafy Greens) (AFAGAHAA), Fresh Herbs & Microgreens Wholesale (AFAIACAC)

Keywords

• Edible flowers
• Specialty produce
• Microgreens
• Culinary garnishes
• Horticulture farming

Headquarters

HQ city

Midrand

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Edible Flowers and Specialty Produce Sales: Direct sales of edible flowers, speciality leaves, microgreens, herbs, and elfin vegetables to professional chefs and retail customers worldwide. Products are hand-harvested daily and shipped fresh via air transport.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pico-GRO cultivates and sells over 120 varieties of hand-harvested edible flowers, specialty leaves, microgreens, culinary herbs, and elfin vegetables from its 7-8 hectare farm in Midrand, South Africa. The company applies proprietary environmental manipulation techniques to extend seasonal availability and produce rare colors, then ships fresh product daily by air to professional chefs worldwide and through Woolworths retail in South Africa.

Product overview

PicoGro operates as a specialty agricultural producer offering a portfolio of edible horticultural products. The core offerings include Edible Flowers (pansies, violas, calendulas, carnations, nasturtiums), Speciality Leaves (fancy foliage and indigenous African forage foods), Herbs, Micro Greens, and Elfin Vegetables. The company uses environmental manipulation techniques to extend growing seasons and produce rare colors. Products are hand-harvested daily and flown worldwide to professional chefs and home cooks. PicoGro does not offer a software platform, API, or digital products—their offerings are exclusively physical agricultural products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Edible Flowers

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• WoolworthscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWoolworths serves as the primary retail distribution partner for PicoGro in South Africa. Edible flowers and garnishes are sold in Woolworths fresh produce aisles, making premium specialty produce accessible to home cooks and consumers nationwide.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• The Chef's Garden: The Chef's Garden is a US family-run specialty farm producing heirloom vegetables, microgreens, and edible flowers directly for chefs. Closely comparable business model, customer type, and product mix.
• Fresh Origins: Fresh Origins is a US-based specialty producer of microgreens, edible flowers, and specialty produce serving professional chefs. Directly comparable product portfolio and customer base to Pico-GRO.
• Edible Flowers Co. Edible Flowers Co. is a UK-based supplier of edible flowers and specialty garnish for chefs and the food industry. Directly comparable niche focus on edible flowers for culinary professionals.
• Speciality Produce: Speciality Produce operates an online marketplace connecting chefs with local specialty growers of edible flowers, herbs, and microgreens. Comparable as a specialty produce supplier serving professional culinary customers.
• Koppert Cress: Koppert Cress is a Dutch global leader in specialty cresses, microgreens, and edible flowers for professional chefs. Directly comparable to Pico-GRO as a premium B2B supplier of specialty edible garnishes with global distribution.
• Glasshouse Greens: Glasshouse Greens is a US producer of microgreens and edible flowers grown in controlled environments for chefs. Directly comparable greenhouse-based production of specialty garnish crops.

Emerging players

• Local Roots Farms: Local Roots is a controlled environment agriculture company producing leafy greens and herbs. While focused on different crops, it shares comparable controlled-environment growing technology and B2B foodservice distribution model.

Regional players

• Woolworths Food (South Africa): Woolworths is PicoGro's primary retail distribution partner in South Africa. As a premium South African grocer, Woolworths provides the consumer channel for PicoGro's products and is structurally tied to PicoGro's domestic retail strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pico.gro.3
• Instagraminstagram.com/pico_gro
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pico-gro

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 Pico-GRO