Eric van Vlimmeren was always fascinated by how things grow. As a curious child in the Netherlands, he could often be found digging in the soil, planting seeds saved from his mother’s vegetable garden, tracking the progress of sprouts in homemade terrariums.

Though he went on to study mechanical engineering, that childhood wonder with nature never left him. Shortly after graduating university in the early 1970s, Eric began experimenting with cultivating cannabis. Drawn to the plant’s unique botanical properties and therapeutic potential, he leveraged his knack for science to nurture high quality genetics.

​

When pioneering American cultivators brought new strains to Holland later that decade, Eric saw firsthand how specialized nutrients could unlock their full potential. Dissatisfied with the limited commercial options at the time, he set up a home lab – rigging up makeshift hydro systems and poring over horticultural studies late into the night. After nearly 3 years of painstaking research and trial-and-error, Eric had crafted a radically effective nutrient formula tailored to the needs of emerging hybrids. Word of the astonishing vitality and potency of plants grown with his products began to spread through the growing underground.

​

Sensing an opportunity to shape the future of cannabis cultivation, Eric brought on a small team of experts to refine his grueling one-man operation into a sustainable business. Establishing Bionova in 1993, they set out with a mission that still guides the company today – to put growers in control by developing the world’s most powerful plant nutrition, concentrated for maximum efficiency and results.

Nearly 30 years later, Eric’s passion for innovating ways to reveal the full genetic potential of cannabis has never wavered. With distribution networks spanning the globe, Bionova continues to deliver on his vision of conscientious cultivation for a new era.