Pack trials offer retail inspiration

David Kuack is editor of GMPRO, Greenhouse Management & Production. He spent 10 days braving California traffic to report on the latest innovations offered by plant breeders. Today, he shares some display ideas and products that ought to build buzz for retailers.

If you weren’t able to make it out to this year’s California pack trials, here are some marketing/merchandising ideas that you might be able to use.

Don’t want to go through the trouble of changing out your displays? Then consider changing out only the plants. This false home-front façade was put up in the Bodger greenhouses to show off multiple uses for its Blanket petunias as either a groundcover or in hanging baskets.

Fides North America might have exhibited the best impulse Mother’s Day item. It’s Calandiva kalanchoe in a ceramic container that kids can color with crayons and a colorful easy-to-carry pot cover that makes it simple to pick up.

Don’t forget about your Spanish-speaking customers. S&G Flowers showed a display of mixed containers with a variety of Spanish-language point-of-sale materials.

Got an unused or damaged arbor sitting around? How about slapping a new coat of paint on it and showing your customers how easy it is to decorate their yards? That’s what Goldsmith Seeds did. You might even consider changing the color every few weeks to present different color schemes or seasonal themes. And don’t forget to take photos of the different displays and keep track of the plants. Post the photos on a bulletin board or online so your customers can use them as a handy reference.

Do you have space in your retail area for customers to sit and relax during their shopping experience? Do you think they’d enjoy sitting under an umbrella consisting of trailing petunias like this one at Suntory/Jackson & Perkins? Just be sure you finish watering the plants before your customers take a seat.

Don’t think that ornamental grasses can look attractive on the retail bench? Wrong. Displays of Sahin and Kieft Seed grasses should garner a lot of customer attention, especially if you have some combo pots on display.

As more consumers see their yards as extensions of their lifestyles, provide them with displays that will inspire them. Who wouldn’t want a fountain in their yard along with some large combo planters after seeing a display like this one at Ball FloraPlant?

-- David Kuack