"During the Covid-19 pandemic, many young people took up the hobby of gardening, boosting the garden industry. How different was the situation after the pandemic with garden centers struggling to engage a new generation of consumers. Research has shown that many millennials are deterred by a fear of not being able to properly care for plants, and the cost associated with failure. For these reasons, a large part of the solution lies in educating and inspiring this group of gardeners," says Jeff O'Brien of Brands in Blooms. Brands in Bloom is a Canadian-based marketing company that is on a mission to help garden centers attract and retain fearful, reluctant and even casual gardeners back into the garden center.
From dissertation to marketing consulting company
In April 2024, Jeff O'Brien and Jon Morisson launched their Brands in Blooms business. They were motivated by the findings of Jeff's thesis on consumer purchasing behavior in retail garden centers in North America. The main outcome of his research is that current marketing techniques don't manage to build trust with young consumers.
"After seven years working for Van Belle Nursery and Bloomin' Easy, I've seen firsthand how crucial it is for garden centers to connect with the next generation of gardeners, and that was the reason that I recently did my MBA thesis on this topic. We offer garden centers a complete package: marketing consulting, modern website design, and social media management so that their marketing resonates with young gardeners," says Jeff.
Recently, the company built out their board of directors to include board members from the garden center industry and consumer influencers. The expanded board consists of members such as Peter Mezzit, the owner and President of the Weston Nurseries, Brie Arthur, author and horticulturist, and Brett Mahoney, third generation at Mahoney's Garden Center.
Jeff comments: "Peter has been instrumental in expanding Weston Nurseries into four retail garden center locations; he brings a wealth of experience and passion for nurturing both plants and people. Brie too is an invaluable asset to Brands in Blooms owing to her ability to captivate audiences and gardening insights. Brett brings a ton of operational and sales experience to our team, and he fits into the younger generation category and understands this group well. Peter, Brie and Brett are just three of more board members to come. Every idea or new product offering will be vetted by this group."
A focus on lifestyle
According to Jeff, garden industry marketing needs to shift towards a focus on lifestyle, saying: "When I was delving into this issue of attracting young garden centers. I started to research companies that are great at marketing, and I saw that most if not all globally successful brands market to lifestyles. And I thought that the gardening industry should do this too. So far the gardening industry hasn't made lifestyle category changes that are about the consumer."
We found that young gardeners are interested in plants and look online for plant-care information. However, many garden centers' websites and social media don't adequately educate and inspire them. To let the younger generations feel comfortable with buying a plant, the garden center, the website, social media, and in-store layout must be built on consumer lifestyles and needs. They should categorically educate the consumer in a way that is adapted to their demographic. Moreover, the online and store experience should really match. All of this means that garden centers should know their target audience very well, and they have to trial," Jeff further explains.
Providing tools
Jeff believes that reaching emerging generations not only keeps garden centers thriving, but also drives more sales for greenhouses and nurseries. "Garden centers are on the front lines to ensure people buy your plants for years to come." To help garden centers with making a marketing plan, Brands in Blooms is launching the Next Gen Insights Course. "This course is explicitly designed to provide garden centers with actionable insights and strategies to help them stay ahead of the curve."
The 7-week course will discuss the topics of consumer research, storytelling in marketing, website design essentials, content marketing strategies in-store layout optimization, as well as sales and upselling techniques.
Research and trade shows
Jeff states that for Brands in Blooms this course is just the beginning. "We are partnering with local associations and industry experts that can help garden centers flourish by captivating the heads and hearts of the next generation of gardeners."
Brands in Blooms will be busy with conducting new studies about marketing and attracting the younger generations. They also attend trade shows including this year's Farwest Show to speak about powerful storytelling and how to attract the fearful and reluctant gardeners back into the garden center. "We are always looking for ways to connect with all kinds of industry partners to find ways to improve marketing so that the green sector becomes more resilient in the future," Jeff concludes.
For more information:
Jeff O'Brien
Brands in Bloom
Email: [email protected]
www.brandsinblooms.com