The consumer need for healthy products will drive sales of houseplants forward in the UK, Edward Garner of market research company TNS told delegates at the Flower Council of Holland’s seminar entitled ‘Plants are lifestyle’, as part of Horti Fair 2008 in Amsterdam.
Garner also predicted that provenance and ethics could also be key tools when it comes to accelerating the houseplant sector in the UK.
He based these statements on an evaluation of trends within the food industry, and believes that, if marketers focus these subjects, the static growth the houseplant sector has been experiencing could be a thing of the past.
“Growth in healthy eating is a trend that can only be positive for plants,” said Garner, pictured. “There have been some big consumer trends in the UK and health is a big one, and plants are generally healthy so they need to be advertised as such. Fundamentally, people feel better in a room with plants in it.”
Garner asked delegates to think about the way marketing has turned round the way consumers perceive air fresheners; from just protecting consumers from unpleasant smells to creating wellbeing and a new way of life in the home. “This is a totally unrelated market selling benefits that your sector could be benefiting from,” he told the room.
“Consumers also want further control and they are prepared to pay more, even in the credit crunch, to make someone or an animal’s life better. If you have a story to tell that will emotionally affect consumers, then tell it. Ethical products are no longer niche lines and they move people away from price…
“The downturn in the economy is having an effect, and budget or value labels are growing overnight, but people will return to premium brands at Christmas, so do not think that selling purely on price is a good idea. The key thing is that consumers will remember a product for good value, not a low price,” Garner added
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