Orta is for sale, all or in part.
If you can turn a business with good bones into good profits, and you'd like to make a positive impact with your next project, Orta might be right for you.
Product innovator seeks business developer.
After creating a unique product with domestic manufacturing and a strong brand, I'm ready to hand off business operations to someone who can really make it grow.
Read on for more details, but if you're in a hurry . . .
Tl;dr
Market: home gardeners, specifically those who grow vegetables, primarily in the US
Market size: 57 million people who each spend about $100 / year. $5.7 billon market.
Product: Self-watering terracotta seed pots that make seed starting easy and successful. Plus seeds and seed starting mix to make kits, and a seed club subscription service.
99% US-based supply chain: Made in California in our own facility, from American materials.
All or part of the business is for sale because the founder is a product and manufacturing innovator, but not a sales and business developer. It’s time for someone else to make the business grow.
We are not yet profitable, but the foundations are in place. Sales growth is the missing factor.
If you're interested to learn more, please email me below.
And as promised, more details:
The Product and Market
Orta makes self-watering pots for seed starting. Made from slip cast terracotta, they’re non-toxic and plastic free, and ship in plastic-free packaging. They work REALLY well to keep seedlings alive!
Home vegetable gardeners are a $5.7 billion market. And they love Orta!
Home vegetable gardeners are our primary market, and we sell to them directly through our website. There are about 57 million home vegetable gardeners in the US, who spend about $100 annually each, which makes a $5.7 billion market.
Competition
We have no direct competitors making terracotta self-watering seed pots, except for some made-in-China (but AI branded to look American) copycats on Amazon who tend to rise and fall quickly. Our manufacturing process is complex enough that copying us directly is a significant barrier to entry, and seems not to be worth it for the copycats.
Semi-direct competition comes from other methods of seed starting like egg cartons or plastic trays. Orta is distinguished by our excellent self-watering performance and plastic-free materials.
Indirect competition comes from the nursery starts that vegetable gardeners are currently buying. An Orta pot pays for itself compared to nursery starts after 2 or 3 uses.
Operations
Manufacturing is complex, but running smoothly in our own facility in West Berkeley, California.
We make all our clay and glazes in-house with our proprietary recipes and processes. The clay comes from a deposit in Ohio. Packaging is all paper or cardboard made in the US. The only inputs that are not from the US are our glaze ingredients. (Glaze accounts for about 1% of total COGS)
Orta has one long-term, stable employee able to run production almost completely independently. Processes and SOP’s are in place to train a new partner / owner / operations manager so that production can continue to run smoothly.
We have just received a grant from Alameda County to update and overhaul packaging operations through the summer of 2025 to make them as turnkey as production.
While a period of training would be necessary to transition to a new owner, most physical operational processes are stable and ready to hand off.
Facilities:
Orta is based in a 1700 sqft warehouse space in West Berkeley. We are zoned for mixed-use industrial, which means that we are able to operate a small retail storefront in addition to the manufacturing.
We have a large front yard that could be used for events and / or leased to a food truck, coffee shop, or other complimentary business. Our large back yard currently houses two shipping containers and a large, flat, paved staging area.
The landlord, who owns two adjacent parcels, has expressed a willingness to sell the property to us. If you are interested in buying the property, he would be likely to accept a fair offer.
Brand:
Orta has a strong and established brand voice and visual identity, ready to pass on to the next owner.
The brand stands for:
- Non-toxic and plastic-free
- Healthy, wholesome gardening
- Innovative, clever products that work really, really well
- Being ahead of the curve on questions of climate, environment, and seeds.
The brand voice is:
- Earnest & sincere
- Knowledgeable
- Accepting and non-judgemental
- Not overtly political
- Strongly values based
Marketing and Sales:
Marketing and Sales is the area in which Orta needs the most help, and is primarily why the business is for sale.
Our marketing is currently primarily via email newsletter. We consistently generate on average $24 per newsletter subscriber per year. A focused digital marketing campaign aimed at increasing the newsletter list size would predictably increase revenues.
Wholesale is an untapped potential market. Currently we generate $20k - $30k annually in wholesale revenues organically, without any sales calls, pitching, or cold calling.
Future Growth and Brand Extensions:
Beyond the self-watering pots we’re known for, there are significant opportunities for brand extension into other gardening supplies, accessories, and education:
- Seeds, including expanding our subscription services
- Amendments & fertilizers
- Gardening specific clothing, hats and gloves
- Tools made by other brands
- Skincare and sunscreen: Natural products in plastic-free packaging
- Gardening journals and planners
- Online courses