'Tis the Season – Marketing for the Holidays |
It’s a fact that Halloween is the second top holiday for retail spending in the US only surpassed in spending by Christmas. The trend for “decorating” – especially around the front door – is growing. The USA spent nearly $7 billion dollars in 2011 on Halloween!! For the average American customer, spending was up 9% in 2010. For the green goods or “living decorations” industry this amounts to very good news in these tough economic times.
Targeting our sales to specific holidays is not new, but coming up with concepts which give the end consumer retail-ready impulse opportunities is our challenge now and into the future. This month will see the first Holiday baskets going up at Disneyland. These high traffic immersion experiences are where we should look for inspiration to spark our creative juices.
Just around the corner is spring, – Shock! Horror! – but yes 2012 is coming!! After the holiday season is over, consumers will be looking to plants again to brighten the New Year as winter slowly moves to spring. Check out our new Whetman Pinks website to give some ideas of early season retail options. Thoughts for spring. Check out the Early Bird™ series – ideal for sales are gift liners or flowering patio containers from as early as Feb/Mar.
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Dianthus 'Chili'
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Top Performers |
The Dahlia Mystic series was one of the top 10 performing varieties throughout the summer from the Raker’s Trial Gardens. Greg Michalak who leads the Finnish team stated of Dahlia Mystic Enchantment and Mystic Fantasy: “In a trial of 187 varieties, the top contenders truly had to pull their weight to gain the title of favorite Dahlia. As I was taking data I found that the Mystic series grew to be my top contenders. Different from the others this single petal variety provides a unique colorful interest when in full bloom or in the foliage stage. These two choices are bold, vibrant and will provide an interest for all!”
Be sure to visit our new online resource for Dr Keith Hammett’s fabulous series of Mystic Dahlia’s at http://www.mysticdahlia.com.
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Dahlia Mystic Enchantment
Dahlia Mystic Spirit
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Trends for 2012 |
Color and quick finish liners are hot trends for 2012. Check out the new images hot off the email from Australia for the Ruffles series Lavenders – all of these images are available from the team at PlantHaven to help you promote the portfolio.
This series, bred in Australia to perform better in higher temperatures, has some stand out performers – two of our personal favorites are Boysenberry and Blueberry Ruffles. Other quick finish premium color lines to check out during 2012 are the Mystic Dahlias and the Lucky Lantern™ Abutilons bred at the University of Sydney.
Looking at the run list – maybe 2012 is the year for crops from the Southern Hemisphere….
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HTA Bedding Focus Conference Summary |
| Over 150 bedding and seasonal plant growers, retailers and suppliers attended the HTA Bedding Focus Conference, held at Syngenta’s International Research Centre at Jealott’s Hill in the UK on November 3rd.
Geoff attended the conference and gave a presentation entitled ‘Anticipating the Future’. The focus asking what today’s breeder’s should be developing now for 2020 and beyond – bearing in mind that a 10 year lead period is typical for serious plant breeding programs. With plant breeding becoming ever more expensive he encouraged the industry to validate new ideas prior to development and trials to ensure that the process of plant breeding is market led. ‘Game changing plant breeding will always underpin industry success and new products are essential. We don’t want more ‘me toos’ but real game changers that really help increase margins’, he said. |
HTA Conference |
Upcoming EU |
| IPM Essen Show – PlantHaven will again be exhibiting at the American Pavilion Jan 24-27, 2012. The IPM Essen show has been a global marketplace of the green sector for 30 years. More than 1,500 exhibitors from 46 countries presented themselves to some 60,000 visitors from 94 countries at the IPM Essen 2010. We look forward to viewing the trend-setting product ideas and promising sales strategies in January. The offering is rounded off by inspiring fair highlights such as entrepreneur forums, presentations of new varieties as well as trend and live shows in the Green City with international stars of floristry. |
IPM Conference |
Spring Trials 2012 – New Location Announcement |
PlantHaven is excited to announce our new location for Spring Trials 2012. We are proudly joining forces to exhibit with six companies in the brand New Spring Trials Greenhouses at GroLink, 4107 West Gonzales Road, Oxnard, CA. PlantHaven will be showcasing a range of exciting new products for 2012 season. Three highlights from PlantHaven for 2012 are: Hosta Liberty, Hosta of the Year for 2012. Plus for 2012/2013: Abutilon Lucky Lantern Red, Dianthus Coral Reef.
Directions: GroLink Google Map
Diary Dates: Sunday, March 25 through Thursday, March 29th. Denise will be delighted to Pre-Register you for 2012. Please contact Denise Frey. Tel: 805-569-9179 Email Denise.frey@planthaven.com
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Maureen's Cocktail Corner |
This month’s cocktail is a classic: The Cosmopolitan. This is one of the simple ones we chatted about last time. We’ll need citrus vodka and orange liqueur, with a splash of cranberry juice - continuing our healthy theme ;-) and a lime.
Let’s get started…
Remember to put the martini glasses in the freezer before you start mixing.
Making cocktails is a bit of showmanship. Be sure to make a lot of noise when shaking the martini (remember Shaken NOT Stirred) and perfect your over the shoulder shake!!
Recipe:
Classic Cosmopolitan:
2 measures Citrus Vodka
1 measure Orange Liqueur
Splash of cranberry juice – maybe about ¼ measure. The color should be a pretty pink
Squeeze of lime
Method
Mix all together and shake with cracked ice. Pour into chilled martini glass. Cut a thin slice of lime and float this on top. Or you can cut a slice of lime, halve it, and then put on the edge of the glass.
It’s after 5 o’clock and I’m going to make one now!
Next time: we’ll branch out a bit.
In the meantime, ENJOY!!
Have a great November!
Kind regards
Geoff, Maureen & The PlantHaven Team |
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