Akebia

What Akebia does

Akebia is a privately held French urban agriculture company founded in 2016 by Guillaume Popineau in Bordeaux. The company specializes in designing, building, and maintaining edible urban landscapes and vegetable gardens using permaculture principles, aquaponics systems, and an integrated landscape-agronomy methodology. Its core technical capabilities span organic permaculture forms (mounds, crop associations, mulching, plant diversity), closed-loop aquaponics systems that pair fish aquaculture with hydroponic plant production (claimed to save approximately 90% water versus traditional soil cultivation), and adaptive design for in-ground or rooftop urban contexts. Akebia operates through six interconnected service lines covering the full project lifecycle: Conseil/AMO (consulting and project management assistance), Études (feasibility studies with architects and urban planners), Conception (permaculture-inspired design), Réalisation (construction and implementation), Entretien/Animation (ecological maintenance paired with educational workshops), and Gestion de Fermes Urbaines (urban farm design, operation, and management as multifunctional production spaces). The company monetizes through professional services fees on one-time design/build projects, recurring maintenance and workshop contracts, and managed urban farm operations such as Le Wagon vert (a 1500 M2 farm in Bègles launched in 2021). Pricing is project-based and not publicly disclosed.

Akebia serves a hybrid customer mix spanning local authorities and social housing providers (Paris Habitat, RIVP, Mairie de Paris, Ville de Saint-Denis), enterprises and hospitality (Hôtel EKLO, Novotel Bordeaux Aéroport, Cdiscount, Château de la Dauphine), food service and craft beverage (L'Escale gourmande/CEETRUS, Philippe Capdevielle Traiteur, La Béglaise micro-brasserie), and individuals seeking residential gardens. Geographic reach is concentrated in France, with active projects in the Bordeaux metropolitan area, Paris (20th and 15th arrondissements), Annecy, Fronsac, Martillac, Saint-Denis, and Chaumont-sur-Loire. The company operates from 87 Quai des Queyries in Bordeaux, within the Le Campement business incubator at the Darwin ecosystem, and is led by founder Guillaume Popineau with a small team of landscape engineers and agronomists. No external institutional funding, parent company, or subsidiary structure is disclosed.

The business model combines one-time design and construction revenue with a subscription-style maintenance and educational programming layer, plus managed-services revenue from urban farm operations. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer for individuals and direct enterprise sales for B2B and B2G clients, supplemented by referral partnerships with architects, urban planners, and real estate developers. Marketing is driven by a public project portfolio, regional press coverage (Sud Ouest, Bordeaux Madame), and festival participation (Festival Annecy Paysages, Festival de Chaumont-sur-Loire). Akebia has no software, API, or AI/ML capabilities; its value proposition rests entirely on human expertise in permaculture design, agronomy, and urban landscape implementation.

Name

Akebia

Legal name

Akebia

Website

https://akebia-ecosystemes.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Akebia is a privately held French urban agriculture firm founded in 2016 in Bordeaux, designing permaculture-based edible landscapes, vegetable gardens, and urban farms for public authorities, real estate developers, hotels, businesses, and individuals across multiple French regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Agriculture and Edible Landscape Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Landscaping Services (561730)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Landscape Design, Build & Installation (Hardscapes/Softscapes) (BPABADAF), Commercial Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance (BPABADAA)

Keywords

• Urban agriculture services
• Edible landscape design
• Permaculture consulting
• Rooftop garden installation
• Urban farm management

Headquarters

HQ city

Bordeaux

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Project Management (Conseil/AMO): Expertise services provided to project owners to support them in developing urban agriculture projects
2. Landscape Design and Construction: Design and full implementation of edible landscapes, vegetable gardens, and urban farms from conception to construction
3. Maintenance and Animation Services: Ongoing ecological maintenance of edible gardens and educational workshops including gardening classes and pedagogical activities
4. Urban Farm Management: Design, operation, and animation of urban farms as multifunctional production spaces connected to territories

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Akebia designs, builds, and maintains edible urban landscapes and vegetable gardens using permaculture principles for local authorities, social landlords, enterprises, hotels, restaurants, architects, and private individuals. The company delivers a full project lifecycle covering consulting, feasibility studies, design, on-ground and rooftop implementation, ecological maintenance, and educational animation.

Product overview

Akebia is a service-based company offering a comprehensive suite of urban agriculture solutions, not a software or technology product company. The company operates as a single unified service offering with six interconnected service phases: Consulting (Conseil/AMO), Studies (Études), Design (Conception), Implementation (Réalisation), Maintenance & Animation (Entretien/Animation), and Urban Farm Management (Gestion de Fermes Urbaines). These services are offered as an integrated project lifecycle, from initial feasibility studies through to ongoing garden management and educational programming. The company specializes in permaculture-inspired edible landscape design, rooftop gardens, educational gardens, shared community gardens, and urban farms, targeting local authorities, architects, social landlords, schools, businesses, restaurants/hotels, and private individuals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Conseil / AMO (Consulting & Project Management Assistance)

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% water savings with aquaponics systems compared to traditional soil cultivation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• IBOATminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 August 2021Collaboration on 'Potager Ephémère' and 'Soirées Fertiles' programming at Bassins à flot, a fertile collaboration for summer events.
• POTAG'HOMEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2018Collaboration with POTAG'HOME for Festival Annecy Paysages installations. Together they created the 'Un potager dans la ville' mandala garden with nearly 2000 plants of 200 different varieties.
• Henri & ScieminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWood specialist for outdoor installations, worked with Akebia on Opéra Chartrons and Château de la Dauphine projects for custom wooden installations.
• SIGN. PAYSAGEminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLandscape partner for the Opéra Chartrons residential project.
• TOA Architectes associésminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitecture firm for the inter-generational garden project at EHPAD and Crèche Charonne in Paris.
• Atelier Paysage & Lumière (Guillaume Popineau)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLandscape architecture partner for the EHPAD and Crèche Charonne project.
• Le Campement (Business Incubator)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAkebia is based within the Le Campement business incubator located in the Darwin ecosystem, connecting with other sustainable development entrepreneurs.
• HOPENminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupplier of hop plants for urban hop cultivation projects at edible gardens.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• POTAG'HOME: French urban-farming design and installation company; explicitly named as Akebia's co-development partner for the Festival Annecy Paysages 'Un potager dans la ville' mandala garden (~2,000 plants, 200 varieties), making it the most directly comparable operator in the same French urban-edible-landscape niche.
• Agripolis: Paris-based urban-farming firm building and operating rooftop farms and edible landscapes for corporates, hotels, and public bodies — directly competitive with Akebia on Parisian rooftop-garden contracts and corporate engagement.
• Topager: French company specializing in urban agriculture, edible landscaping, and rooftop/permaculture installations for enterprises, social landlords, and municipalities — near-identical service mix to Akebia across conception, réalisation, and animation.
• Atelier Jacqueline Osty: Established French landscape architecture practice delivering large-scale public-space and master-planning projects; comparable on the landscape-architecture / urban-planning axis of Akebia's offering (especially for Mairie de Paris-scale tenders), though without the edible-agriculture specialization.
• Les Fermes de Gally: Long-standing French operator of urban farms, educational gardens, and on-site agricultural services for businesses and local authorities — directly comparable on the urban-farm management and educational-animation services that anchor Akebia's recurring revenue.

Broad incumbents

• Idverde: European leader in commercial landscaping and grounds maintenance, including urban greening contracts for municipalities and corporates; represents the scaled, institutional-capital-backed incumbent that Akebia would compete against on larger public tenders.

Emerging players

• Phytorestore: French specialist in phytoremediation and ecological landscape engineering with overlap into urban ecological design; adjacent peer sharing Akebia's sustainability-and-plant-science orientation, but focused on environmental remediation rather than food production.
• Cycloponics: French urban-agriculture operator running basement mushroom and microgreens farms (La Caverne) in Paris; adjacent model sharing Akebia's urban-food-production theme but with a different production environment (subterranean vs. rooftop/ground-level) and customer base.
• La SAUGE: French urban-agriculture association producing shared and pedagogical gardens in Paris and surrounding cities; overlaps with Akebia's pedagogical workshop, shared-garden, and social-landlord offerings but operates primarily as a nonprofit/association model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AKEBIAecosystemes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/akebia-ecosystemes

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 Akebia