It turns green

The market for garden products has been growing for years, not only, but also during the pandemic. Halm now wants to profit from the boom, with individual lawn care advice. CEO Niko Andreewitch reveals why direct sales to consumers are particularly worthwhile here.

Even the most convinced city dweller has probably had the dream of his own garden from time to time in recent months. During the lockdown months, the green idyll on one's own property suddenly seemed even more appealing than perhaps it already did. And those with lawns suddenly discovered their green thumbs. Spending on garden products skyrocketed. In 2020, the market grew by over nine percent to a good 20 billion euros in Germany, a record, as the German Garden Industry Association (IVG) happily announced. Admittedly, the association also assumes that special effects led to this and that such growth rates will not be repeated so quickly. But nevertheless the economic field of garden products is attractive, already without Corona the turnover was over 18 billion Euro.

Niko Andreewitch wants a piece of this pie. The start-up veteran, formerly with the fashion job exchange Inselberg and the proptech Home HT, among others, reports from a Hamburg hotel via video, with a piano strumming in the background. The Austrian wants to talk about his new heart's desire: Lawns. "I don't know any garden owner who doesn't value a beautiful lawn, but few know how to maintain it effectively," he explains. His new company, Halm, aims to remedy that, with customized lawn care programs over the Internet. The promise: Customers send in a soil sample, and in return, after a thorough analysis, receive appropriate lawn care products and precise instructions for action for the coming year. "That's how we want to make lush, healthy green possible for everyone," Andreewitch says.

Halm sends individual care plans

Sound crazy? Maybe, but the Halm CEO points out that the underlying mechanics aren't that new at all. "I've talked to some experts in the field who are already doing consulting and fertilization plan creation on a personal level. With Halm, we're scaling that approach and making it available to the masses," he says. Among them is his co-founder Christina Lung, a trained biologist and chemist who has been doing relevant analyses for years. Together with her husband Gerhard Lung - former turf commissioner of the German football leagues Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart - she provides the turf-specific know-how that is to be combined with Andreewitch's business skills.

Halm has now been active on the market for six weeks. On the start-up's website, interested parties can answer a few questions and then receive an offer with a price tag. Anyone who then signs a contract will be looked after by Halm for a year in terms of lawn care. Costs for an area of 200-250 square meters are 160-190 euros per year. That's more expensive than stocking up on fertilizer yourself at the hardware store. "But then there is also no advice and no soil analysis," says Andreewitch. That alone costs 80 to 90 euros if a private person does it himself. "Besides, our fertilizers are quality products that come from the professional sector," he adds. Overall, he is convinced that his own pricing model is competitive. "We explicitly want to appeal not only to villa owners, but to the broad mass of hobby gardeners," he says.

Market trends could play into the start-up's cards. Because online trade is also becoming increasingly important in the garden business. In 2020, sales of almost 1.5 billion euros were already generated there. Of course, Corona was a driver here as well, but even in pre-pandemic years, the sector usually grew at double-digit rates.

Thanks to D2C, Halm earns from every customer - right from the start

For Halm, the focus on direct online business is also driving margins. "We cut out almost all the middlemen between the fertilizer manufacturers and the customer," Andreewitch explains. As a result, he says, they make money from every customer from the moment they sign a one-year contract. "We hope, of course, that we can then keep our customers for the longer term, but our model doesn't hinge on that," he says. Andreewitch believes, however, that those who use the Halm program will be won over by the results. "If you follow through for a year - three fertilizer seasons - fully on our plan, it will show in the results," he is certain.

So far, Andreewitch and his team have dispensed with external capital; they have made their market entry possible from their own funds and with contacts in the scene, he reports. In the medium term, however, Andreewitch is now hoping for a seed investment; he is currently talking to business angels. The founder has an unusual desired profile: "We are currently in the process of bringing a well-known footballer on board, many invest in start-ups nowadays." After all, who would be a better ambassador for a turf start-up than someone who earns his money every weekend on grass?