For 30 years, we formulate the substrates for those who make things grow.
Professional substrates, hobby growing media, plant care and protection products. A selected supply chain of Baltic and German peat, 500+ active formulas, exports to 20+ countries from two Italian operational sites. Whether you grow for work or for passion, we exist to make your batch more reliable.
Three steps, one constant: batch quality.
We were founded in 1996 as a family-run company specialising in substrates. Over the years, the name changed, the business expanded, and the product lines multiplied. What has remained the same, every year, is where the peat comes from and how we process it.
Sudest Europe is established
We opened as a family-run company with one promise: to bring professional substrates with source-selected raw materials to Italy. The first customers became our laboratory — custom formulas, field trials, seasonal adjustments. The “technical partner” model starts here.
We become Arber
Twenty years later, the rebrand. The new name comes from Agnes Robertson Arber, the British botanist who studied monocotyledon anatomy and linked her name to scientific precision in observing plants. The brand changes; the family ownership and the supply chain do not.
500+ formulas, 4 brands, 1 supply chain
We work across the full scale: from the professional grower who orders 60 m³ of a custom mix to the home gardener who needs a 50 L bag for the balcony. The same raw materials at the base, different brand names: Arber for the Pro, Leader and Leader Bio for home garden care, Nathuro for those who want a reduced-peat formula.
Three things, done fully — not halfway.
We select raw materials at the source, formulate mixes according to who will use them, and deliver to the customer through a network that knows its territory. Every step falls within our responsibility.
We formulate and produce
500+ active formulas in the catalogue, plus custom mixes on request. Blonde peat, brown peat, perlite, vermiculite, volcanic Lapillus, wood fiber, biostimulants: every formula is a balance of structure, retention, pH, and release. Every formula is developed and owned in-house, and each product reaches the market with Arber as producer of record. The in-house laboratory validates every batch.
We distribute
Two operational sites in Italy — Bolzano and Alezio — and an export team delivering to 20+ countries by truck, container or intermodal. (In Italy, 15 zone agents cover the territory.) Logistics are sized to deliver pallets and Big Bale within timeframes that fit growing cycles.
We stay close
The value of a substrate is not visible on the bag. You see it at transplanting and confirm it at harvest. Our agents work closely with the growers in their area. They know your neighbouring businesses, the local microclimates, and the formulas that have worked — and those that have not. They support you through the trial before they talk about an order.
Same extraction sites, year after year. For thirty years.
The peat we use comes from the Baltic region — Lithuania — and from Germany. These are regulated fields, worked continuously, with stable geology: the peat from one year is consistent with the peat from the year before. In our batches, this means one fewer variable between the formula and the result.
We work primarily with block-cut peat — extracted in compact blocks — rather than milled peat. The natural structure is better preserved, drainage is more predictable, and the batch is easier to qualify. The German part of the supply chain is HORTICERT certified; selected professional raw materials are certified under the RAL procedure of Gütegemeinschaft Substrate für Pflanzen; biological lines use FiBL-certified raw materials.
RAL
FiBL
Close to your work. In Italy and in 20+ countries.
In Italy, a network of local sales agents knows the growers, the microclimates and the formulas that work, region by region. Abroad, a dedicated export team serves customers in more than 20 countries. The logic is the same: one person who answers, and well-organized logistics that shorten delivery times.
Four brands, one supply chain.
The raw materials are the same. The audience changes, the tone changes, the format changes. Each brand speaks the language of the people who will use it — from the professional nursery grower to the home gardener caring for a balcony.
The Pro line: DX substrates, Forest X, Unipot, Unitorf, loose raw materials, custom mixes. For those who formulate their own cultivation.
Growing media, plant care, natural protection, and pest control for home gardeners. Wide distribution through garden centers and DIY stores.
The Leader range certified for organic farming. Same product logic, raw materials with FiBL traceability.
A line with a reduced-peat composition, for those who prefer to lower peat dependency without giving up performance.
Where the name Arber comes from.
When we decided to rename the company in 2016, we looked for a name that placed discipline at the centre of how we look at plants. Agnes Robertson Arber (1879–1960) was the third woman elected to the Royal Society. She devoted her life to studying monocotyledon anatomy — she looked inside plants before anyone spoke of products to grow them. She is the root of our name and of the way we formulate: first you understand, then you mix.
Visit us or contact us any time.
39100 Bolzano (BZ), Italy
73011 Alezio (LE), Italy
Sudest Europe S.r.l. — registered office Via Enrico Toti 77, 73011 Alezio (LE) · VAT IT 03418990754 · Commercial brand: Arber Horticulture®
Do you want to find out if we are the right supplier for you?
If you are looking for a professional growing media supplier, the fastest way is to speak with the sales agent in your area. They know the businesses around you, the formulas that have worked, and those that have not — and they arrange a sample or a field trial before making any offer.
RAL
FiBL