March 2015 Big Grower, Grower News, Management

COVER STORY — Growing in the Garden State…and Beyond By Tim Hodson

Satisfying the needs of today’s consumer is a challenge all growers face. But that is actually the foundation Garden State Growers in Pittstown, New Jersey, has built its business on over the past nearly 40 years.

By keeping up with the latest trends in fashion, design and home furnishings, the company grows “Better Plants to Grow a Better Garden.”

Operating under that motto, the company has evolved from a backyard operation to one of the largest wholesale growing operations on the East Coast serving the major big box retailers.

The goal at Garden State Growers is to grow high quality plants that the end user can enjoy and be successful with in different areas of their lives.

The team at Garden State Growers always “keeps the consumer’s aesthetic in mind” when looking for new products to grow and sell. They keep their collective finger on the pulse of the end consumer so they can provide them with products they want.

Big Grower recently had a chance to talk to Garden State Growers’ co-owner Roy Den Hollander and Kristine Lonergan, vice president of sales and marketing, to get their perspective on successfully working with big box retailers to reach consumers and enhance their experience with plants.

Family Roots

Garden State Growers’ roots were firmly planted in the Den Hollander family’s backyard in Wayne, New Jersey. Back in 1976, Roy’s older brothers, John and Dave, used to collect pachysandra cuttings from around the neighborhood and everyone in the family would plant them.

Den Hollander says once the plants were ready, they would load up his father’s car and travel to the local garden centers “and peddle them out of the back of our station wagon.”

The Den Hollander growing operation continued to expand and after a few years they moved from the backyard to leasing several greenhouses in northern New Jersey.

In 1980, the company really began to take off. That’s when the Den Hollanders purchased property about 55 miles south of Wayne in Pittstown, New Jersey.

“It was a flat piece of ground and we just started building greenhouses out of old heat pipes and 4x4s,” Den Hollander says.

Today, Roy and Dave are the co-owners of Garden State Growers. The company has facilities in two locations in Pittstown with nearly 40 acres of production under cover and almost 160 acres of outdoor production.

Garden State Growers “serves large retailers who sell plants in sizeable quantities” and specializes in growing perennials, annuals, groundcovers, edibles, mums and other seasonal products.

Consumers can find Garden State Growers’ plants in big box retail stores from as far south as Maryland all the way up to Maine and out to Ohio. The company also sells to some independent garden centers, smaller regional chains and landscapers.

Collaborating for Success

According to Den Hollander, Garden State Growers’ has gotten to where it is today by following this business philosophy: “to exceed our customer’s expectations by growing the best quality product, offering innovative products, creating fresh marketing concepts and providing superior merchandising support.”

“Our primary focus is on the large retailers,” Den Hollander states. He says Garden State Growers enjoys working with large retailers like the Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Costco because of the challenges and rewards they have to offer.

“Our relationship with the big boxes is very positive,” says Lonergan. “It is extremely collaborative. We are always focused on trying to add value to our relationships and products.”

Den Hollander and Lonergan say Garden State Growers’ large retail customers are more like partners working together for a common goal — to turn consumers of all ages on to buying more plants.

“There is a lot of collaboration between us and the buyers [at the big boxes] on how we are going to market,” Den Hollander states. He says they like to work with retailers who are open to new ideas and willing to try things. “Our ideal customer is someone who recognizes the opportunity to grow their business through new product ideas, merchandising approaches and marketing.”

“When you have a retailer like Home Depot that will work with you to really push the limits to see what the consumers are looking for, where and how to go to market and how to try new things, it makes it very exciting to work with a company like that,” Den Hollander says.

Den Hollander says because of the strong partnership that Garden State Growers has with its retail partners, they have developed a trust factor with each other. “The retailers are always there to listen to our opinions.” And then make decisions that are mutually beneficial for everyone.

Communication with the retailer is critical Lonergan says. “We are constantly keeping them in the loop on our products as well as different consumer trends we learn about,” she says. “If we see anything that may be of interest to a buyer [at one of the retailers], we feed that information to them … It is a true partnership!”

Keying in On Consumers

Growing and selling plants has changed quite a bit since the Den Hollanders were planting pachysandra in their backyard. Back then, most plants were grown for “gardeners.” Today, they are grown for on-the-go, time-crunched consumers.

“We are extremely consumer-centric É really focused on the consumer in everything we do,” Lonergan says.

Lonergan joined Garden State Growers nearly seven years ago after working in the home furnishings industry. She brings a different perspective to the company’s marketing efforts than the traditional grower point of view.

She says that whenever the management team at Garden State Growers has any discussion (in-house or with retailers) about new products or ideas “it always comes down to the end-user.”

“Every year when we look at all of our product categories, we try to dig deeper because we want to be able to give the customers what they are looking for. We want to be in tune with the consumer,” Lonergan says. But, she adds, they also need to stay ahead of the consumer curve and be sure they are looking toward the future.

“We do a number of things to understand our consumers better,” Den Hollander says. “We do consumer surveys during the season, attend different trade shows, not just in the horticulture industry, but we also attend gift and design shows to better understand color and design trends.”

“Our goal is to make gardening an appealing and fun activity for everyone,” Lonergan says. “We want the consumers to be successful, because in the long run, if they are successful we [the grower, retailer and consumer] all win!”

Den Hollander and Lonergan agree that an informed customer is incredibly invaluable to the company. By providing consumers with the right types of information, in-store or online, they can help that customer succeed with their plant purchases.

In the garden center, it is extremely important that the plant tag, bench card or in-store poster has the key points for the shopper to buy a plant with confidence and know they will have an enjoyable experience with it.

One consumer trend that Garden State Growers is capitalizing on is the demand for homegrown edibles. Den Holland says the company’s organic vegetable and herb program continues to grow because “Millennials as well as other consumers want to be more aware of what they are eating.” They want to know where their food is coming from and be responsible for producing what they are eating.

Communicating with consumers online and via social media is a vital component to Garden State Growers’ marketing program.

In 2014, the company launched a program called “Ready. Text. Grow.” This program has consumers sign up to receive a text at the beginning of the season when the store they shopped at was going to receive fresh product from Garden State Growers. The shoppers receive subsequent texts throughout the season whenever new plants are delivered to the stores.

The texts serve both as a reminder and a motivator to get out to buy plants. “The gardening season is such a tight season,” Lonergan says. So this program lets the grower reach out to the consumer on behalf of the retailer in a timely fashion. “We can’t assume she is thinking about plants all of the time.”

“It also helped us gain early market share,” Lonergan says, and it also created repeat customers at those stores throughout the season. According to Lonergan the program was very successful and the company plans to expand it in 2015.

Garden State Growers also reaches out to consumers via Twitter and plans to increase its presence on Instagram in 2015 so people can see creative, unique and decorative ways that plants can be used.

The company is always looking for feedback from consumers too. One way to get qualitative and quantitative data is to talk to consumers as they are shopping. Last year, Garden State Growers’ in-store merchandisers were provided with a survey app for their mobile phones that allows them to ask shoppers questions about plants and their purchasing intentions.

Lonergan says the merchandisers talked to shoppers in the garden center and in other areas of the stores to gain their insight. “Consumers really like to talk. They gave us some really interesting information” when it comes to buying plants, Lonergan said.

“The app is easy to use and you get immediate feedback,” Lonergan remarks.

Vision for the Future

Den Hollander believes that growers need to change their mindset when talking to today’s consumers. “We want to change the vision of the consumer to go from gardening is all about work to gardening is all about lifestyle and enjoying the outdoors. It’s about creating a lifestyle that represents your personal tastes.”

“Today’s consumer and the younger generation don’t necessarily want to ‘work'” for all of the benefits that gardening and plants have to offer. But they still want those benefits in their lives.

“Our philosophy is to try and make it as easy as possible and more enjoyable for the consumer!”

Garden State Growers at a Glance

Year Founded:
1976

Location:
Two different sites in Pittstown, New Jersey

Total Growing Space:
Approximately 40 acres under cover and 160 acres of outdoor production.

Management Team:
Roy Den Hollander, co-owner; Dave Den Hollander, co-owner; Kristine Lonergan, vice president, sales and marketing; Mark Lysynecky, chief financial officer; Jan Nielson, vice president, operations; Mike Fisher, perennial director; Sara Mitchell, annual director; Ken Littrell, merchandise and training director; Lydia Den Hollander, production manager; John O’Donnell, contract grower coordinator.

Number of Employees:
125 full-time; 250 seasonal

Customers:
90 percent big box retailers/chains — 10 percent independent garden centers, landscapers and other smaller retailers.