Epic Gardening Buys Modern Farmer + M&A History Since 2023
April 11, 2025 by Chris Erwin
RockWater Roundup
M&A analysis of the creator economy to make you a better operator and investor.
Today we discuss Epic Gardening’s acquisition of Modern Farmer as well as its 2 other acquisitions in the gardening content and consumer products space. We analyze the deal details, strategic rationale, $17M funding from TCG, diversifying revenue from product sales, creator network, and how the digital-native gardending brand is pioneering content x commerce.
Let’s break it down…
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–BUYER: Epic Gardening–
Overview
- Gardening focused digital publisher and consumer products business
- Mission: Be the premier resource for gardening enthusiasts and sustainable living advocates, with the goal of helping the world learn to grow
- Started as blog with $50 in domain and web fees, then published content on YouTube, and added ecommerce business in 2019
- Founded in 2013 by Kevin Espiritu (CEO)
- 66 associated members on LinkedIn
- Headquartered in Broomfield, CO
Business Lines
- Sells live plants, seeds, planters, and other gardening equipment via its website, Amazon, 200+ and growing retail stores
- Creates content and blogs around gardening. Prior to launch of ecommerce business, made majority of revenue through ad sales, affiliate deals, and brand partnerships
Company Highlights
- Most-followed gardening brand
- 8.8M total followers across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok
- 10M+ lifetime podcast listeners
- Majority of revenue via ecommerce
- Sold 2,000+ books on Amazon
Creator Network
- Offers an affiliate program for creators starting to grow their audience
- Ambassadorship program for creators with established audiences and ready to collaborate with Epic Gardening on campaigns
Featured Creators
- Jacques Lyakov of Jacques in the Garden
- Chris Chung of Fluent Garden
- Briana Bosch of Blossom & Branch Farm
Financials
- 2024 revenue of $45M (CEO Interview)
- 2021 revenue of $7.3M (CEO Interview)
Capital Markets History
- Feb 2025: Acquired Modern Farmer
- Jan 2023: Acquired Botanical Interests
- Jan 2022: Raised $17.5M Series A from The Chernin Group (TCG)
–TARGET: Modern Farmer–
Overview
- Food and agriculture newspaper publisher
- Founded in 2013 by Frank Giustra
- 13 associated members on LinkedIn
- Formerly based in Hudson, NY
Business Lines
- Monetizes informative articles on food, farm, and consumption via advertisements
- Print publishing business, discontinued in 2018
Company Highlights
- Won a 2014 National Magazine Award
–DEAL DETAILS–
Overview
- Announced 2.25.25
- Undisclosed
Post Deal Ops
- Bring Modern Farmer back to profitability through leveraging storied history in regenerative agriculture and farming news
- Jason Wilson, Founder of AllAboutGardening.com, another Epic Gardening acquisition, to join Modern Farmer as Head of Editorial
Strategic Rationale
- Expand EG reach to new agricultural and farmer audiences adjacent to gardening enthusiasts
- Access to content library to use across broader Epic Gardening media footprint e.g. add to blog inventory, potentially inspire new video formats on YouTube, etc
- Access to writers who could be newly activated across EG media footprint
–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–
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Potentially distressed deal. Modern Farmer’s investor and founder, Frank Giustra, continued to financially support the print business in 2015 despite mounting fiscal challenges. Most of the company’s editorial team left, and the print publication was suspended. From 2018 onward, the business pivoted to publishing solely online. In a post announcing the deal, CEO Kevin Espiritu mentioned how the asset is unprofitable.
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Despite poor financial performance, deal presents an opportunity for Epic Gardening to reach a new audience. Modern Farmer likely attracts a more traditional, agriculture-focused demographic that’s older and less digitally native. Under the Epic Gardening umbrella, Modern Farmer could serve as a useful onramp to introduce its readers to social and video-first content, potentially converting them into customers of Epic’s growing line of consumer products.
–TARGET: All About Gardening–
Overview
- Large blog resource for all different types of gardening expertise
- Produces high quality gardening content across flowers, shrubs, vegetables, etc
- Other subverticals: Plant problems, garden pests, and product reviews
- 10 team members contributing to different gardening specialties
- Founded in 2021 by James Wilson
Business Lines
- Online gardening publishing business
Company Highlights
- Became a premier resource for gardening enthusiasts seeking info on a variety of gardening niches
–DEAL DETAILS–
Overview
- Announcement date undisclosed, occurred shortly prior to Modern Farmer acquisition
- No deal details disclosed
Post Deal Ops
- 10 writers from All About Gardening to join Epic Gardening and contribute to Epic Gardening’s publishing
- Founder Jason Wilson to join Modern Farmer as Head of Editorial
Strategic Rationale
- Expand written editorial content team for Epic Gardening; bring over experts in different gardening niches to expand audience offerings based on interest
- Access to content library to use across broader Epic Gardening media footprint e.g. add to blog inventory, inspire new video formats on YouTube, etc
–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–
- How AAG’s 10-person writing staff could be a strategic asset to EG’s growth plans. With this acquisition, Epic Gardening receives access to 10 experts within individual gardening niches, who can leverage their experiences and expertise to expand Epic Gardening’s editorial content. Similar to our note on the Modern Farmer rationale, these writers could also be activated for new social and video formats across EG’s media footprint, and also help superserve niche audiences who fall under the general garden enthusiast umbrella. Which in turn will also help EG build more trust and delight with its consumers, and sell more products.
–TARGET: Botanical Interests–
Overview
- Supplier of seeds and other gardening equipment
- Founded in 1995 by Judy Seaborn and Curtis Jones
- Post-acquisition headquartered in Broomfield, CO
- 29 associated members on LinkedIn
Business Lines
- Sells seeds for vegetables, flowers, herbs along with live plants and other garden products primarily through B&M retail (introduced online after sale to EG)
Company Highlights
- 4,500+ customers across garden centers, nurseries, hardware stores, and natural food stores
–DEAL DETAILS–
Overview
- Announced 1.11.23
- No deal details disclosed
Post Deal Ops
- No details disclosed
Strategic Rationale
- Expand Epic Gardening’s commerce categories and in-store retail placement
- Already expanded into 200+ stores, goal is 750-1000 by 2025 EOY
- Expanded into animal feedstocks through a test program titled “Feed and Seed”
- Grew online sales by 65% in the first year through announcing acquisition and opening Shopify store
–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–
- The future of content-powered businesses lies in the products they sell—and how well those products align with their audience. Epic Gardening is a strong pioneer in social commerce, and has seen meaningful growth by leveraging social and editorial content to grow its e-commerce business. Given Epic Gardening’s audience is growers, and all growers need seeds, the product offering was a natural fit for Epic’s gardening-focused community. The acquisition also brought with it a retail distribution footprint and a dedicated sales team, enabling Epic Gardening to rapidly scale its store network. The combination of a strong online audience and retail network helped Epic quickly boost product sales post acquisition.
I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and digital agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to consumer research and go-to-market planning.
DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris @ wearerockwater dot com
