Vivai Capitanio

Name

Vivai Capitanio

Legal name

Vivai Capitanio Stefano Società Agricola di Capitanio Leonardo & C. S.a.s.

Website

https://vivaicapitanio.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Ornamental Plant Nursery

NAICS

Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142), Nursery and Tree Production (111421)

akta.pro primary industry

Nursery Production (Woody Ornamentals: Trees, Shrubs, Roses) (AFAGAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Landscape Plant & Nursery Stock Wholesalers (Grower-Wholesalers) (AFAGAHAM), Potted Flowering Plants & Bedding Plants Production (Annuals, Perennials, Plugs) (AFAGAHAE)

Keywords

• Ornamental plant nursery
• Wholesale nursery plants
• Landscape plant supply
• Mediterranean ornamental plants
• Outdoor garden plants

Headquarters

HQ city

Monopoli

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Plant sales: Sale of ornamental outdoor plants including trees, shrubs, grasses, climbers, succulents, and groundcovers produced in-house across 11 production centers.
2. Transportation services: Specialized transport services for plant delivery, including bulk loading options optimized for mixed shipments.
3. Packaging and labeling: Assembly and packaging of plant carts with photographic labels providing botanical information and cultivation suggestions.
4. Programmed planning: Large-scale pre-ordering with advance planning for customized cultivation and guaranteed delivery schedules.
5. CC Container-Depot services: Authorized container depot in Italy for rental, purchase, transfer, and restoration of plant carts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Vivai Capitanio is a wholesale nursery that produces and sells outdoor ornamental plants — trees, clumps, ornamental grasses, climbers, succulents, and groundcovers — grown across 11 production centers spanning over 70 hectares. The company serves professional buyers (garden centers, landscape architects, public works contractors) with complete integrated services including specialized transport, packaging, photographic labeling, programmed multi-year cultivation planning, and CC Container-Depot logistics. It also operates the Lama degli Ulivi botanical garden as a research and cultural venue.

Product overview

Vivai Capitanio is a family-owned Italian nursery (operating since 1985) offering a broad assortment of outdoor and garden plants across multiple product categories: trees (Alberi), clumps (Cespi), ornamental grasses (Graminacee), climbers (Rampicanti), succulents (Succulente), and groundcovers (Tappezzanti). The portfolio includes dozens of named plant species such as Allamanda cathartica, Passiflora vitifolia, Delosperma cooperi, Photinia x fraseri 'Red Robyn', and many more. Complementing the plant catalog, the company offers an integrated suite of services including specialized transportation, precision packaging and labeling (with botanical information tags and plant passports), scheduled/planned cultivation for large-scale projects, a professional showroom, and a CC Container-Depot. The company also operates the Giardino Botanico Lama degli Ulivi (2,000+ plant species) as a research, cultural, and events venue, and funds the Premio Stefano Capitanio academic thesis award.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ornamental Trees (Alberi) Ornamental trees grown in pot sizes 24 cm and 40 cm, suitable for outdoor garden and landscape projects, produced in-house across the 11 production centers.
• Clump-forming Shrubs (Cespi) Clump-forming plants cultivated in medium-to-large sizes, including Mediterranean shrubs ideal for landscape work.
• Ornamental Grasses (Graminacee) Ornamental grasses cultivated across multiple production centers, available in 24 cm pots.
• Climbing Plants (Rampicanti) Climbing plants including Passiflora, Allamanda, Mandevilla, and Stephanotis species for vertical greening.
• Succulent Plants (Succulente) Succulent plants including Carpobrotus, Delosperma, Drosanthemum, Sedum, Ruschia, and Oscularia species, known for drought and salt tolerance.
• Groundcover Plants (Tappezzanti) Groundcover plants including Delosperma cooperi, Drosanthemum roseum, and other spreading species for low-maintenance garden coverage.
• Specialized Transport Service (Servizio Trasporti) Transportation service using specialized long-term partner transporters, offering secure packaging and optimized costs for plant delivery to professional buyers.
• Packaging Service (Servizio Imballaggio) Assembly and packaging of plant carts carried out precisely and on schedule, ensuring fresh products without requiring clients to order large quantities of a single item, reducing waste.
• Photographic Labeling Service (Servizio Etichettatura) Photographic tags available on request that enhance plants aesthetically and functionally, providing botanical information, cultivation guidance, and usage suggestions, along with plant passports.
• Programmed Cultivation Planning (Pianificazione Programmata) Long-term cultivation planning service that programs plant growth months or years in advance, ensuring availability, variety, and guaranteed delivery times for large-scale green projects.
• CC Container-Depot Service Authorized Italian depot for rental, purchase, transfer, and restoration of plant carts, integrated into an international logistics network.
• Professional Showroom 2.5-hectare exhibition space where production, landscape, and innovation converge, allowing professional buyers to observe plant behavior in real conditions and receive personalized technical consulting.
• Giardino Botanico Lama degli Ulivi Botanical garden spanning 3 hectares among millennial olive trees, hosting over 2,000 plant species from around the world, with two rupestrian churches, used for research, culture, biodiversity promotion, and events including workshops and guided tours.

Quantifiable outcome

• 35+ years of continuous operation and growth
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Università degli Studi di BaricoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Collaboration with University of Bari to develop production protocols for Xylella-free plants. Partnership resulted in the Lynfa protocol for protecting Apulian nursery production from the Xylella bacterium.
• ANVE (Associazione Nazionale Vivaisti Esportatori)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Co-founded by Stefano Capitanio in 2006 with Leonardo as current president. National association of nursery exporters representing and supporting the Italian nursery industry with advocacy, research, and international development initiatives.
• Specialized transport partnersmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-standing collaborations with specialized transporters considered as true business partners. Selection based on consolidated collaboration over time ensuring reliable delivery services.
• Cooperativa SerapiaminorOthersPartner for botanical garden management and visitor services at Giardino Botanico Lama degli Ulivi. Manages bookings and visitor experiences at the garden.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Florensis: Large Dutch-based breeder and producer of ornamental plants with a broad portfolio across annuals, perennials, and pot plants. Comparable as a wholesale ornamental plant supplier, though broader in scope and not Mediterranean-specialized.
• Syngenta Flowers: Global ornamental plant business within Syngenta, breeding and producing pot and bedding plants through an international network. Comparable as a wholesale ornamental plant supplier serving professional growers and landscapers.
• Dümmen Orange: Global leader in floricultural breeding and propagation, with operations across ornamental categories. Comparable as a vertically integrated ornamental plant producer, though at far larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Ball Horticultural Company: US-headquartered global horticultural company breeding and producing ornamental plants across all major categories. Comparable in its B2B wholesale nursery model and integrated breeding-to-finished-plant approach, but serves a North-American-weighted customer base.

Direct peers

• Selecta One: German-based breeder and producer of ornamental plants (bedding, balcony, and pot plants) supplying the European wholesale market. Comparable as a propagation-to-finished-plant nursery operator in the European ornamental supply chain.
• Gruppo Padana Piante: Leading Italian nursery group with extensive production of ornamental outdoor plants and trees, supplying garden centers, landscapers, and public works contractors. Direct competitor in the Italian ornamental wholesale nursery segment with overlapping customer segments.
• Vivai Torsanlorenzo: Major Italian nursery operator headquartered in Lazio, producing a broad assortment of ornamental Mediterranean plants for landscape and garden-center channels. Closest direct competitor to Vivai Capitanio in scale, geographic specialization, and B2B go-to-market with landscapers and public works.
• Kientzler Jungpflanzen: German young-plant producer specializing in propagation and supply of starter ornamental plants to growers across Europe. Comparable in its propagation-focused upstream position in the European ornamental supply chain.

Regional players

• Vitroflora: Polish nursery producing a wide range of ornamental container plants for the European wholesale market. Comparable as a container-nursery wholesaler focused on outdoor ornamentals, though operating primarily from a Central European base.

Others

• ANVE (Italian Nursery Exporters Association) member nurseries: ANVE is the Italian national association of nursery exporters co-founded by Stefano Capitanio and currently presided by Leonardo Capitanio. Its member nurseries collectively represent Vivai Capitanio's domestic peer set and the channel through which the company influences industry standards.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vivaicapitanio

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Vivai Capitanio