What Starkl Gartencenter does

Starkl Gartencenter, legally Starkl Pflanzen GmbH, is a family-owned Austrian garden center chain founded in 1912 and headquartered in Aschbach-Markt, Austria. It operates eight physical garden centers across Austria (Aschbach, Frauenhofen, Maria Enzersdorf, Pottendorf-Landegg, Pfaffstätten, Vösendorf, and Vienna-Simmering), one location in Čáslav (Czech Republic), and a dedicated plant mail-order operation. The company sells plants, seeds, garden tools, and accessories, supplemented by its proprietary STARKL BIO product line of organic fertilizers and peat-free soils built around NaturXylit substrate technology, and the Samen Maier organic seed sub-brand. Its own Austrian production facilities supply the entire fruit assortment, emphasizing climate adaptation, frost resistance, and short sustainable delivery routes.

Revenue is generated through five primary streams: in-store retail, e-commerce (shipping to Austria, Germany, and Italy), professional garden planning and design services, on-site gastronomy (Das Gartenhaus restaurant in Pfaffstätten and Das Pfau café/bistro in Aschbach), and plant production/wholesale. Pricing is unit-based with euro pricing inclusive of VAT, a flat bulky-item shipping rate (€29.90 Austria, €32.90 Germany/Italy), and a Stammkunden loyalty program offering a 3% annual credit voucher. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer, supported by content marketing via the Gartenblog (with SEO-driven long-tail articles), a weekly newsletter, seasonal catalogs, and experiential attractions such as the Erlebnisgarten in Aschbach. Customer-facing differentiators include a voluntary 6-month Anwuchsgarantie (growth guarantee) on winter-hardy plants and a 2026 partnership with 'Natur im Garten' giving away approximately 800 native fruit trees to community projects. Ownership is split equally (25% each) among four family entities — Anton Starkl GmbH, Ludwig Starkl Holding GmbH, Starkl Gesellschaft m.b.H., and Starkl Pflanzenversand GmbH — with Mag. (FH) Anna Starkl serving as Managing Director.

Name

Starkl Gartencenter

Legal name

Starkl Pflanzen GmbH

Website

https://starkl.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Starkl Gartencenter is a family-owned Austrian garden center chain founded in 1912, operating eight retail locations in Austria, one in Czech Republic, a plant mail-order facility, e-commerce across Austria/Germany/Italy, and its own production sites serving home gardeners with plants, organic STARKL BIO fertilizers, and professional garden design services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Garden Center Retail & Horticulture

NAICS

Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (44424), Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Retailers (4442)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Plant & Nursery Stock Wholesalers (Grower-Wholesalers) (AFAGAHAM)

Keywords

• Garden center retail
• Plants and horticulture
• Garden design services
• Online garden shop
• Organic gardening supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Aschbach-Markt

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Garden Center Retail Sales: Sale of plants, garden accessories, soils, fertilizers, and garden tools through 8 physical garden center locations in Austria and 1 in Czech Republic. In-store advice and selection guidance from specialized staff.
2. E-commerce / Online Shop: Online sales of plants, seeds, tools, and STARKL BIO products delivered to customers in Austria, Germany, and Italy. Plants are shipped during optimal planting seasons and may be delayed due to weather conditions.
3. Garden Planning and Design Services: Professional garden planning and design services provided by garden architects. Includes initial consultation, design presentations, and horticultural implementation. Customers contact the planning department at their nearest location.
4. Gastronomy Operations: Operation of 'Das Gartenhaus' restaurant in Pfaffstätten and 'Das Pfau' café & bistro in Aschbach, both located adjacent to garden centers, providing food and beverage service to garden visitors.
5. Plant Production and Wholesale: Own fruit production from domestic (Austrian) production operations. Entire fruit assortment — available both online and in garden centers — is sourced from local production farms, ensuring climate adaptation, robustness, frost resistance, and short sustainable delivery routes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Starkl Gartencenter is a family-owned Austrian garden center chain operating 8 physical retail locations across Austria (including Vienna) and 1 in the Czech Republic, complemented by a full e-commerce online shop (www.starkl.at) delivering to Austria, Germany, and Italy. The company sells plants, seeds, garden accessories, soils, fertilizers, and garden tools, alongside its proprietary STARKL BIO line of organic/peat-free fertilizers and soils, and the Bio Samen Maier organic seed range. It also provides professional garden planning and design services, plant mail-order delivery, an experience garden (Erlebnisgarten), and on-site gastronomy (Das Gartenhaus restaurant, Das Pfau café).

Product overview

Starkl Gartencenter operates as a family-owned Austrian garden center business established in 1912, offering an integrated portfolio of physical retail (8 garden centers across Austria and Czech Republic), e-commerce (online shop with delivery to Austria, Germany, and Italy), own production facilities, and professional garden planning services. The core product portfolio centers on plants and horticultural supplies, including STARKL BIO branded biological fertilizers (nettle extract, liquid and granular fertilizers for various plant types including balcony plants, vegetables, perennials, evergreens, bog plants, roses, and lawns), peat-free universal soil (STARKL Universalerde), and organic seeds under the Samen Maier sub-brand. Physical locations feature experience gardens (Erlebnisgarten Aschbach), on-site dining (Das Gartenhaus restaurant), and loyalty programs. The digital offering includes a weekly newsletter, Gartenblog with expert gardening content, and an online catalog. Plant mail-order and garden design services complement the retail operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• STARKL BIO Bio Fertilizers & Plant Care Proprietary range of biological fertilizers and plant care products including Brennnesselextrakt (nettle extract), liquid fertilizers for balcony/container plants, fruit & vegetables, universal use, and specialty fertilizers for lawns, perennials, evergreens, rhododendrons, and roses. Sold under the STARKL BIO private label for home gardeners seeking organic solutions.
• STARKL Universalerde (Universal Soil) Peat-free universal soil made with NaturXylit, fine coconut fibers, and bark humus, pre-fertilized for 4–6 weeks. Suitable for all indoor and outdoor planting. Available in 45L bags (€12.99) and pallets of 48 bags (€623.52).
• STARKL Eigenproduktion (Own-Production Fruit & Ornamental Plants) Homegrown fruit assortment (apples, pears, berries) and ornamental plants cultivated at Starkl's domestic Austrian production facilities. Plants are climate-adapted, frost-resistant, and delivered with short sustainable transport routes. Available online and across all garden center locations.
• Bio Samen Maier Seeds Organic seed range including lettuce, field vegetables, herb seeds, flower seeds, sprouts and microgreens, plus greeting cards with embedded seeds. Marketed under the Samen Maier sub-brand within the Starkl assortment for home garden cultivation.
• Starkl Garden Center Retail Locations Eight physical garden center locations across Austria (Aschbach, Frauenhofen/Tulln, Maria-Enzersdorf, Pottendorf-Landegg, Pfaffstätten, Vösendorf, Vienna-Simmering) and one in Czech Republic (Čáslav-Nové Město), offering in-store specialist advice, broader in-store assortments, and plant care services to walk-in consumers.
• Gartengestaltung (Garden Planning & Design Services) Professional garden design and landscape architecture service. Customers contact the planning department at their nearest Starkl location for initial consultation, design presentations, and horticultural implementation. Offered to both private and commercial garden clients.
• Pflanzenversand (Plant Mail-Order Service) Dedicated plant shipping service operated from the Aschbach-Markt Königsbrunn facility. Customers place orders via phone (+43 7476-700) or email ([email protected]); plants are dispatched during optimal planting seasons and may be delayed due to weather. Ships to Austria, Germany, and Italy.
• Das Gartenhaus Restaurant (Pfaffstätten) Restaurant located adjacent to the Pfaffstätten garden center, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a focus on high-quality ingredients and a garden-inspired atmosphere. Drives dwell time and cross-sell of garden products.
• Erlebnisgarten Aschbach (Experience Garden) Free-to-visit experience garden at the Aschbach headquarters featuring a 7-meter garden gnome 'Happy Peppi', a molehill labyrinth, children's playground, blooming garden areas, and the adjoining 'Das Pfau' café & bistro for visitor refreshments. Open daily with extended weekend hours.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6-month Anwuchsgarantie (growth guarantee) on winter-hardy plants, providing replacement or credit if plants fail to grow despite proper care.
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Natur im GartenminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Starkl partners with 'Natur im Garten' (an Austrian organic gardening initiative) to give away approximately 800 native fruit trees to community projects with public benefit — including community orchards, tree-lined avenues, and school gardens. Municipalities, clubs, and initiatives planting at least 50 trees can apply until September 30, 2026. The initiative promotes environmental sustainability and community greening.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• OBI: Large DIY chain with strong garden category presence across Austria and DACH. Overlaps with Starkl on tools, soils, and basic plants, but lacks specialist plant expertise.
• BAUHAUS: Pan-European DIY retailer with garden assortment in Austria. Competes with Starkl on garden tools, soils, and accessories but does not specialize in plants or BIO products.
• Hornbach Baumarkt: Major European DIY/home improvement chain with extensive garden departments in Austria and DACH. Competes on price and assortment breadth but is not plant-specialist focused.

Direct peers

• Bakker Holland: Online-direct specialist plant and bulb retailer shipping across Europe. Direct competitor to Starkl's online shop in Austria/Germany/Italy on living plants and BIO gardening supplies.
• Pflanzen-Kölle: German family-owned garden center chain with multiple locations, own production, and garden planning services. Highly comparable in product mix, in-store experience, and family-business heritage.
• Dehner: Germany's largest family-run garden center chain with ~130 locations plus online shop. Comparable multi-channel plant and garden supplies retailer with strong BIO/private-label strategy, though larger and broader geographically.
• Baldur Garten: German online plant and garden products specialist with mail-order across DACH. Direct online peer for plants, BIO supplies, and seasonal garden products.
• Bellaflora Gartencenter: Austrian garden center chain operating multiple physical locations plus online shop. Direct competitor to Starkl in the Austrian home-gardener segment, with overlapping plant, BIO, and accessory assortment.

Others

• Bellandris: European buying and marketing group for independent garden centers. Comparable as an ecosystem partner for sourcing, brand programs, and procurement for Starkl-style multi-location garden retailers.
• Natur im Garten: Austrian public initiative promoting organic gardening. Comparable as the partner in Starkl's tree-giveaway program; thematically aligned with Starkl's BIO positioning and peer to organic-gardening brand associations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/starkl-gartencenter

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Starkl Gartencenter