What Biolan does

Biolan Oy is a Finnish family-owned manufacturer of peat-based growing media, organic fertilizers, composters, dry toilets, and small-scale wastewater treatment systems, founded in 1974 by Hannes Kariniemi and headquartered in Kauttua/Eura, Finland. The product range comprises roughly 100 SKUs, including patented fast-composters (Kiirkomposter 220eco and 500), compost-toilets (Kompostkäimla eco), multi-design dry-toilets (Populett, Kuivkäimla, Simplett, Vedelikku Eraldav), peat substrates, the Novarbo closed greenhouse system, and the 2023-launched biofiber product line that supplies wood-fiber-based alternatives to peat for growing substrates. Manufacturing spans three wholly-owned production hubs — Finland (Eura, including the €7M+ biofiber factory opened in 2023, the company's largest capital investment), Estonia (Biolan Baltic Oü for peat products), and China (Biolan Suzhou) — with contract assembly handled by Favorit Tuote Oy, greenhouse systems by Novarbo Oy, and dedicated direct sales by Suomen Myyntikumppanit Oy.

The company sells primarily to consumers — home gardeners, hobby farmers, and cottage and summer-house owners — with secondary institutional demand from housing cooperatives, schools, kindergartens, and public sites such as Nuuksio National Park. Revenue is generated through (i) one-time hardware sales of composters and dry toilets, (ii) recurring consumables revenue from fertilizers, growing media, composting accelerants, and drying agents, and (iii) export sales that account for ~20% of Biolan Oy's revenue and ~50% of Biolan Baltic's output. Distribution combines gardening-store retail, consumer-goods retail chains, dedicated direct sales, owned e-commerce (biolanshop.ee), and regional export distributors across the EU, Middle East, Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Americas.

The Biolan Group reported €61 million in revenue for 2024 across approximately 183 employees, with the Finnish parent Biolan Oy contributing €30 million and 76 employees. The group holds ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications across five entities and has won the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, the European Companies' Environmental Awards, and recognition at the 1992 UN Rio Conference.

Name

Biolan

Legal name

Biolan Oy

Website

https://biolan.ee

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Biolan is a Finnish family-owned manufacturer (founded 1974) of peat-based growing media, organic fertilizers, composters, dry toilets, and small wastewater treatment systems, serving home gardeners, cottage owners, and select public-sector and institutional customers across Finland, the Baltics, and broad global export markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Gardening & Composting Products

NAICS

Fertilizer and Compost Manufacturing (32531), Compost Manufacturing (325315)

SIC

Agricultural Chemicals (2870)

akta.pro primary industry

Bio-based Fertilizers, Soil Amendments & Biostimulants (Digestate-derived, biochar-based inputs) (EUAAAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biochar & Carbon-Based Soil Conditioners (AFABADAD), Digestate & Compost Product Processing, Marketing & Distribution (Soil Amendments, Mulch) (EUAIAEAE), Biostimulants & Plant Health Biologicals (Microbial/Non-microbial) (AFABAEAK)

Keywords

• Peat-based growing media
• Home composting systems
• Dry toilet solutions
• Organic garden fertilizers
• Wastewater treatment equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Kauttua/Eura

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware products: One-time purchase revenue from composters, dry toilets, and accessories. Products sold through gardening stores, consumer goods stores, direct sales, and e-commerce.
2. Consumable products: Recurring revenue from fertilizers, growing media, peat products, composting accelerants, and drying agents. Cross-selling opportunity with hardware products.
3. Export sales: Growing export revenue, approximately 20% of Biolan Oy revenue. Biolan-Baltic OÜ exports all production. About 60% of total exports delivered directly from Estonia, about 40% from Finland.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Biolan designs, manufactures and sells approximately 100 peat- and bio-based products for sustainable gardening and small-scale sanitation, including home and cottage composters, dry toilets, garden soils and growing media, organic fertilizers, peat blocks/insulation, and decentralized sewage/wastewater cleaning systems. Through its Novarbo subsidiary it also supplies substrates and closed-loop hydroponic growing systems for professional greenhouses, distributing primarily through retail chains, consumer goods stores, its own e-commerce shop, a captive direct-sales unit, and export partners across Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Americas.

Product overview

Biolan is a Finnish family-owned company with 50 years of experience designing, producing, and marketing products that reduce environmental burden from daily life. The product portfolio consists of approximately 100 products organized into several product groups: organic fertilizers for home gardens and agricultural production, growing soils, natural soil products for indoor plants, natural nutrients and care products for flowering indoor plants, composters and composting products, dry toilets with accessories, and sewage treatment equipment. The core products are complemented by a wide range of accessories including composting accelerators, compost aerators, maintenance kits, Bokashi fermentation systems, and ventilation accessories. Biolan operates production facilities in Finland, Estonia, and China, with domestic products mainly produced at the Eura factory.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Novarbo: Greenhouse systems and agricultural large-scale production products
• Favorit Tuote
• Biolan Organic
• Biolan Organic

Products and services

• Biolan Home Composter range (220eco, Quick Composter, Stone Composter)

Named customers3 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

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Novarbo OycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2010Subsidiary responsible for Novarbo system for greenhouses and large-scale agricultural production sales and product development since August 1, 2010. The Novarbo closed greenhouse system has received multiple innovation awards including European Companies' Environmental Awards.
• Favorit Tuote OycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubsidiary that produces Biolan composters, dry toilets and sewage systems in their assembly factory.
• Biolan Baltic OücoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeat product manufacturing company in Estonia, with about 50% of production exported. All exports account for about 60% of total Biolan Group exports.
• Biolan Suzhou Co. LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManufacturing company operating in China as part of Biolan Group's global production network.
• Suomen Myyntikumppanit OycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIndependent company established for organizing direct sales with 8 employees. Handles direct sales operations in Finland.
• DNV GLminorOthersIndependent certification organization that performs certification audits for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 quality and environmental management systems.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Separett: Swedish manufacturer of composting and urine-diverting dry toilets for off-grid and eco-conscious households; directly competes with Biolan's dry toilet and composting toilet product lines in the Nordic market.
• Lambert Peat Moss: Canadian peat moss and substrate producer with a global export footprint; directly comparable to Biolan's peat-based growing media business and shares exposure to professional horticulture and consumer gardening customers worldwide.
• Pindstrup: Danish peat and substrate producer serving professional horticulture and consumer gardening across Europe; a direct competitor to Biolan in peat-based growing media with overlapping export markets in the Baltics and broader EU.
• Klasmann-Deilmann: Germany-based leading producer of peat-based growing media and substrates for professional horticulture; competes head-to-head with Biolan in substrate portfolios and shares the European horticulture and gardening customer base.
• Kekkilä: Finnish producer of peat-based growing media, substrates, and garden products; directly competes with Biolan in the Nordic and Baltic horticulture market and shares a comparable customer base of home gardeners and professional growers.
• Jiffy Group: Norwegian-headquartered producer of peat-based growing media, propagation products, and substrates; competes directly with Biolan in substrates and shares the home gardener and professional horticulture customer segments.
• Premier Tech: Canadian producer of peat-based growing media, horticultural substrates, and organic fertilizers; directly competes with Biolan's substrate and organic fertilizer lines and shares exposure to professional greenhouse and consumer gardening customers.
• ASB Greenworld: German producer of peat substrates, growing media, and organic garden products; a direct competitor to Biolan in substrates and organic fertilizers, particularly across German-speaking and broader EU retail channels.

Emerging players

• Jora: Swedish niche manufacturer of insulated composters for kitchen and garden waste; a smaller, more specialized competitor to Biolan's Kiirkomposter and composter portfolio with similar thermal insulation design philosophy and overlapping Nordic customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Westland Horticulture: UK-based broad horticultural products company offering composts, growing media, lawn care, and garden sundries under multiple brands; competes with Biolan across consumer gardening categories with a much larger scale and retail footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Biolan