
According to a recent study released by Grand View Research, the market size for greenhouses was estimated to be $2.9 billion in 2023. The news gets better for entities involved in the greenhouse manufacturing and retailing
industries because sales are predicted to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 9 percent from 2024 to 2030.
Why the uptick? Many attribute the increase in greenhouse sales to a lingering attitude of self-reliance following COVID-19.
“Sustainability” is paramount to many greenhouse owners, says Dan Forte, the sales manager of Brad’s Barns and Gazebos in Kingston, New York. Adding a greenhouse to a house allows a health-conscious homeowner to grow their own fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices.
“Traditionally, we used to sell prefabricated structures, but today, we can build custom greenhouses to help people start their planting season. I love the idea of sustainability,” says Forte, so greenhouses are a feel-good product for him, too.
Forte’s family purchased Brad’s Barns from the actual “Brad,” the company’s namesake, in 2006.
The business was established in 1986, and Forte’s family kept the well-known name. In the early years of Brad’s Barns being under the Forte family’s helm, its “bread and butter was sheds. As the industry grew, so did we,” he says.
A few years later, Brad’s Barns added gazebos to their inventory.
GREENHOUSE GROWTH
According to Forte, customers started requesting greenhouses before the business even offered them.
“Early on, we only had two sizes (of greenhouses) with potting benches. We didn’t start out customizing them but now we do. We are really building for you (the customer),” he says.
Greenhouses were added to Brad’s Barns inventory in 2013.
Although greenhouses were not a market leader for the company in the early years of their availability, Forte was not discouraged.
Greenhouses are a product “that even if they don’t take off right away, you need to have inventory to sell them,” he says.
He advises shed building companies considering adding greenhouses to their inventory that selling the product requires a personal approach.
‘“You can’t sell a greenhouse via photos. A customer needs to stand in it. They need to feel the temperature. In the summer, open the windows. In the fall, the weather is lovely,” says Forte.
The pandemic played a huge role in the increasing popularity of residential greenhouses, says Forte.
“In the dark days of COVID, we could not keep them in stock. Just as the lockdown happened, a lot of greenhouses were sold. That helped us,” he says.
GREENHOUSE COMBOS
Forte’s building crew has developed to the point where it can erect dual-use outdoor structures, such as a combination greenhouse and shed. This type of building provides protected storage for various gardening and outdoor tools and a separate space outfitted with the proper roofing, windows, and shelving for planting and growing.
“We even built a greenhouse attached to a home office,” says Forte.
The largest multi-purpose structure Brad’s Barns has built was a 14 by 32 combination greenhouse/shed/additional storage, says Forte. The largest greenhouse his company has erected was 10 by 18.
Besides gaining renewed adoration from residential customers, greenhouses are also a draw for larger audiences. According to Forte, a growing trend is for municipalities to buy greenhouses for their community gardens. “They are getting into it,” he says.
THE PERSONAL TOUCH
“We seek a personal relationship with our clients. Because we are so custom-focused, it is hard to have a middleman,” says Andrew Kurtz, owner of Hometown Structures in Westfield, Massachusetts.
When the company was founded in the year 2000, it built two shed styles. Both could be customized. At the time, Kurtz says he “played around with the wholesale market but there was so much retail interest, our forte became direct sales to the public.”
Between 2005 and 2021, Kurtz’s company built just a handful of greenhouses. That all changed when Kurtz hired a salesman armed with extensive knowledge of greenhouses and plants.
“Joel Nisly helped us standardize our greenhouse options. Even with those standard offerings, customers can customize” a greenhouse, he explains.
Greenhouses became a standard offering in 2021 upon Nisly’s arrival.
BUSINESS STRATEGY
According to Kurtz, “There is a huge variety of what a greenhouse is. It can be a simple kit with plastic frame” or customized to an owner’s vision, including windows, doors, and roofing designed to invite the sun’s warmth.
Over the years, Kurtz says his team has simplified the greenhouse building process.
“Our philosophy in the greenhouse space is to take our sheds and modify them. We wanted to make our greenhouse production as streamlined as possible, so they are based on our sheds,” he says.
As with Forte, COVID-19 proved to be a boon to Kurtz’s greenhouse- building business.
“People came in concerned with supply-line issues. They want to be self-reliant,” he says.
THE CHERRY ON TOP
For Kurtz, offering greenhouses is a win-win.
“It’s great to make people’s dreams come true. When we’re done, we have created their dream. That is satisfying.”
Buying a greenhouse is an emotional decision because people seek a space where they can grow and relax.
“A greenhouse is entirely about growing. It is also about relaxation. People are creating nooks and other cozy areas to relax,” he sums up.