Zentrum für Betriebswirtschaft im Gartenbau e.V.

What Zentrum für Betriebswirtschaft im Gartenbau e.V. does

Zentrum für Betriebswirtschaft im Gartenbau e.V. (ZBG) is a German registered non-profit association (e.V.) based at the Institut für Landwirtschaftliche Betriebslehre at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart. Operating under a direct mandate from German agricultural ministries (Landwirtschaftsministerien), ZBG runs the Betriebsvergleich Gartenbau, the only publicly-funded sector-specific business benchmarking program for German horticulture. Approximately 800 horticulture companies submit annual financial statements each year through the Betriebsvergleich 4.0 online platform, which provides data import functionality for accounting systems, sector-segmented comparison groups, and structured consulting reports (Beratungsbriefe). All services are provided free of charge to participants, with no fees charged to horticulture companies, tax advisors, consultants, or educational institutions.

The organization's business model is fully publicly financed through agricultural ministry grants, and its customer base is distributed across three segments: horticulture businesses (vegetable producers, fruit growers, nurseries, retail garden centers, cemetery gardening, landscaping companies), tax advisors and business consultants who serve horticulture clients, and universities and vocational schools using the platform for teaching. ZBG distributes its services through the self-serve Betriebsvergleich 4.0 platform, a tax-advisor intermediary channel, and educator access accounts.

Beyond benchmarking, ZBG conducts applied research projects funded by federal and state bodies including the Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (BMEL) via its Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau, and Hamburg's BUKEA. Active research projects include the PV-Greenhouse integration study (with Fraunhofer ISE, HGU, and HAW Hamburg, running 2026–2029), ROBUSTGemuese and BIONEERS on organic horticulture resilience (through 2028–2031), and a sustainability assessment initiative. ZBG also hosts the Nachhaltigkeitsrat für den deutschen Gartenbau and organizes the annual Betriebswirtschaftliche Fachtagung, with the 64th edition scheduled for September 2026 in Dresden. The organization has approximately 5 employees and operates under the institutional umbrella of the University of Hohenheim without external equity ownership.

Name

Zentrum für Betriebswirtschaft im Gartenbau e.V.

Legal name

Zentrum für Betriebswirtschaft im Gartenbau e.V.

Website

https://zbg.uni-hohenheim.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ZBG is a German non-profit research center at the University of Hohenheim that operates Betriebsvergleich Gartenbau 4.0, a publicly-funded online benchmarking platform used by approximately 800 horticulture businesses annually, and conducts applied research on horticulture business economics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Horticulture Business Benchmarking

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Horticulture benchmarking
• Agricultural economics research
• Business comparison platform
• Sustainability assessment horticulture
• Applied farming research

Headquarters

HQ city

Stuttgart

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: The ZBG is funded by German agricultural ministries (Landwirtschaftsministerien) to conduct the Betriebsvergleich Gartenbau and applied research on business economics in horticulture. Services are provided free of charge to participants due to public financing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ZBG operates the Betriebsvergleich Gartenbau 4.0, an online benchmarking platform that enables German horticulture businesses to submit annual financial statements and receive comparative performance reports against industry peers. The organization also conducts applied research on business economics in horticulture and hosts the annual Betriebswirtschaftliche Fachtagung (business economics conference), all funded by public financing from German agricultural ministries.

Product overview

ZBG operates as a research and knowledge transfer center affiliated with the Institute for Agricultural Business Studies at the University of Hohenheim. Its primary product is the Betriebsvergleich Gartenbau 4.0, a free-of-charge online benchmarking platform for horticulture businesses in Germany, funded by public financing through the agricultural ministries. The platform enables businesses, tax advisors, and educational institutions to submit annual financial statements and receive comparative performance reports. In addition, ZBG offers sustainability assessment tools (prototype), organizes the annual Betriebswirtschaftliche Fachtagung (business economics conference), and conducts applied research projects in business economics for horticulture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Betriebsvergleich 4.0: Online platform for economic benchmarking of horticulture businesses providing annual financial comparisons, consulting reports, and performance metrics for participating companies.

Products and services

• Betriebsvergleich Gartenbau 4.0 An online platform that enables German horticulture businesses to submit financial data (annual financial statements, balance of totals lists, structural data) and receive comparative benchmarking reports against industry peers across sectors including vegetable production, fruit growing, nurseries, retail gardening, and ornamental plant cultivation. Free of charge due to public financing.
• Betriebsvergleich 4.0 Online-Plattform (für Bildungseinrichtungen) Educational version of the Betriebsvergleich 4.0 platform with 'Mittler' (intermediary) access credentials, allowing teachers at universities and vocational schools to create multiple student accounts and conduct practical training in financial analysis without submitting data to ZBG evaluations.
• Betriebswirtschaftliche Fachtagung des ZBG Annual professional conference on business economics in horticulture covering competitiveness, marketing, and digitalization topics. The 64th edition is scheduled for September 2026 at HTW Dresden. Provides a venue for knowledge transfer and professional exchange among horticulture practitioners, advisors, and researchers.
• Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung im Gartenbau (Prototyp) A sustainability assessment prototype developed by ZBG to evaluate sustainability performance in horticulture operations, overseen by a dedicated sustainability council (Nachhaltigkeitsrat). The tool is part of a broader initiative to develop sustainability assessment frameworks and criteria for the German horticulture sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual submission of approximately 800 financial statements for industry benchmarking
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme (ISE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZBG is a partner in the PV-Greenhouse research project led by Fraunhofer ISE, investigating the integration of photovoltaic systems into greenhouses in Hamburg. The project runs from January 2026 to December 2028 and is funded by Hamburg's environmental authority (BUKEA). ZBG contributes horticultural economics expertise to analyze economic impacts and business models.
• Hochschule Geisenheim University (HGU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the PV-Greenhouse research project investigating agri-PV integration in Hamburg greenhouses. HGU contributes horticultural science expertise alongside ZBG's business economics analysis.
• Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg (HAW Hamburg)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the PV-Greenhouse research project alongside Fraunhofer ISE and HGU. HAW Hamburg contributes applied sciences expertise to the Hamburg greenhouse PV integration study.
• Behörde für Umwelt, Klima, Energie und Agrarwirtschaft Hamburg (BUKEA)coreOthersGovernment authority funding the PV-Greenhouse research project and the sustainability council (Nachhaltigkeitsrat) for German horticulture. BUKEA provides project financing for ZBG's participation in applied research.
• Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (BMEL) / Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau (BÖL)coreOthersFederal ministry funding body supporting ZBG's research projects on organic farming resilience (ROBUSTGemuese and BIONEERS). Projects running until 2028-2031 investigating resilience strategies for organic horticulture.
• Nachhaltigkeitsrat für den deutschen GartenbaucoreOthersSustainability council for German horticulture that ZBG hosts and participates in. Develops sustainability assessment frameworks and criteria for the horticulture sector.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• INRAE: France's national research institute for agriculture, food and environment. Comparable as a large publicly funded applied research body producing economic and sustainability analyses for horticulture at national level.
• Wageningen Economic Research: Part of Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, conducting applied economic analyses for the Dutch agricultural and horticultural sectors. Closest international equivalent to ZBG in scope and methodology.
• Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein-Westfalen: State chamber of agriculture providing applied economic advice, benchmarking and research for horticultural and agricultural businesses in North Rhine-Westphalia. Comparable role as a publicly funded intermediary producing farm-level economic analyses.

Direct peers

• Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI): German federal research centre for cultivated plants, also hosted within the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Comparable as a publicly funded German research institute serving the horticulture and plant production sector.
• KTBL (Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft e.V.): KTBL is a German non-profit that develops operational data, benchmarks, and decision-support tools for agriculture — most directly comparable to ZBG's Betriebsvergleich 4.0 platform. Both are publicly funded, German-headquartered institutions producing applied economic benchmarks for farms.
• Hochschule Geisenheim University: German university specializing in horticulture, viticulture and beverage sciences with applied research into horticultural economics. ZBG already partners with HGU on the PV-Greenhouse project, confirming direct overlap in scope and research remit.
• Bayerische Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft (LfL): Bavarian state institute for agriculture providing applied research and farm-level economic analysis. Comparable structure (state-funded applied research for farmers) and overlapping mandate in horticulture economics and benchmarking.
• Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute (Thünen-Institut): Germany's federal research institute for rural areas, forestry, fisheries, and agricultural economics. Directly comparable as a publicly funded applied research organization producing economic analyses for German agriculture and horticulture.

Emerging players

• DLG-Akademie / Agrar-Daten-Service: DLG-affiliated platform providing digital benchmarking and farm management tools. Emerging commercial/adjacent alternative to ZBG's Betriebsvergleich 4.0, addressing the same customer need for sector-wide farm comparison data.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG): Major German agricultural society organizing trade fairs, certification, and benchmarking programmes (e.g. DLG benchmarking). Overlaps with ZBG in horticulture benchmarking and convening the sector, but with much broader scope across all of agriculture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/unihohenheim
• Facebookfacebook.com/UniHohenheim
• Instagraminstagram.com/unihohenheim
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zentrum-f%C3%BCr-betriebswirtschaft-im-gartenbau-e-v

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Zentrum für Betriebswirtschaft im Gartenbau e.V.