Market Overview

The gardening/kitchen gardening market has been showing a significant growth due to the influence of special demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. In FY2020, it grew to 104.0% of the preceding fiscal year to 236,500 million yen, and on 101.3% to 239,600 million yen in FY2021 (based on the shipment value at manufacturers/producers). The market is expected to grow marginally to 240,600 million yen for FY2022, 100.4% on year-on-year growth.

Baby boomers and seniors in their 60s had been the core users of the gardening market, and thus gardening has been considered a mature market in Japan. However, the customer base in on a decline as aging proceeds in the last couple of years. Attracting younger consumers in their 30s and 40s is a pressing challenge for the market expansion hereafter.

As the novel coronavirus prevailed from early 2020, the gardening/kitchen gardening market acquired new customers in younger ages because of a new demand for pastime to take up during the movement restrictions, while home centers in suburbs increased popularity as shopping facility effective in avoiding 3Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings). To keep the new customers interested in gardening, gardening companies such as seedling companies, gardening tool suppliers and retailers, are enhancing customer touchpoint through various attempts that may create new opportunities for customers to become acquainted with plants. They use social media to increase the market reach, renovate store spaces to entertain family segment, and open adjoining café and/or DIY tutoring space to extend the time spent at their stores.

Noteworthy Topics

Apparel Brands Utilize Customer Service & Product Presentation Expertise in Plant Business

Traditionally, plants and gardening supplies had been sold at home centers, garden centers, and local gardening stores. However, seeing people become more interested in plants during the pandemic, new channels (customer touchpoint) have been expanded to create more opportunities for customers to get to know plants.

For instance, some companies in apparel industry, are witnessed to start offering products related to “food” and “shelter (residential environment)” in addition to “clothing”. The pandemic-induced changes in lifestyle, increasing health consciousness among consumers, and shrinkage of the apparel market have led them extend their business domain in broader range of “necessities of life”.

The apparel brands that have opened their plant shops at commercial complexes utilize their expertise in customer service and product presentation they acquired in the apparel business. While some shops propose a total coordination of living with plants, suggesting the best type of plants for to suite personal taste or showcase best match of plants to pots, others offer a wide variety of plant products, including cut flowers, bouquets, and flower seedlings.


In addition to the sales of plants, some companies expand to gardening business including exterior design and tree planting, as well as plant rental business, which transform offices and facilities with greenery.

Future Outlook

As evidenced by the influx of young customers during the COVID-19 crisis, there is potential demands for gardening/kitchen gardening.

While competition intensifies in the sales of seedlings that are easy to handle/time-saving, the seedling companies are increasingly developing value-added products, such as strong and weatherproof seedlings for flowers and vegetables, to acquire new customers. They are also coming up with new taglines and proposing alternative usage to exploit the potential demands for their regular items.

Meanwhile, gardening supply makers have been promoting less space consuming gardening methods like container vegetable gardening, as well as indoor gardening kits, which may add style to home interior. These attempts are particularly aimed to stimulate the demand for indoor gardening among city dwellers without outdoor gardens, and to encourage the new customer segments that started gardening during the pandemic to continue gardening as a hobby.

Furthermore, the international horticultural exhibition to be held in 2027 at Yokohama (“GREEN × EXPO 2027”) is expected to boost the market.



Driven by the attempts for customer acquisition and the collaboration with other industries, the gardening/kitchen gardening market is forecasted to grow marginally to 248,600 million yen by FY2027 (103.8% of that of FY2021).

Research Outline