2/26/2015
Drink Up
Ellen C. Wells
Plants are a lot like rum. At least that is the take on it by Marta Maria Garcia, Costa Farms’ director of marketing. I spoke to her at length about plants—potted plants in particular—for the story, “Our Future Depends on Potted Plants.” Now, you don’t have to be a rum drinker to understand the plant-rum connection. Stay with me on this for a few minutes and you’ll understand the logic.
Marta and I were discussing the key role potted plants play in recruiting new consumers to our category. New consumers are folks who are not yet routinely thinking about and living with the concept of gardening in their lives. For the most part, new consumers are Millennials. Costa’s Desert Gems cacti came up in the conversation—those are the tiny “painted” cacti that come in several (dare I say) outrageous colors. Millennials think these small painted plants are really cool. Plant snobs like you and me may not find them authentic and appealing, but the young folks are really into it. “People are seeing this as ‘This isn’t my grandmother’s plant, these are my plants,’” says Marta.
Here’s where the rum comparison comes in. Before coming to Costa, Marta worked for Bacardi Rum. She was there when the rum category was seeing a bit of a lull. What was going on and what could they do about it?
This is Marta’s explanation: “The regular rum drinker was aging and we weren’t recruiting new rum drinkers fast enough. That’s when the flavored rums were born. Research showed that newer consumers had a sweeter palate. The consumer wanted a new spin on the product. With the introduction of the new painted plants I am seeing a lot of the same thing.”
The same thing happened with vodka and martinis. I may not enjoy an apple-tini but young, chic individuals do. (And come to think of it, the colors of those “tinis” do bear a resemblance to Desert Gems.) If you run a bar or restaurant and your regular customers aren’t coming in as frequently—maybe they settled down, had children and so on—you do some research on what your non-customers prefer. And then you put it on your menu. It happens all the time.
So, why aren’t we more receptive to innovations and adjustments that could potentially garner new consumers? Lots of reasons as I see it. It’s a big risk. It’s an investment with shaky returns. It’s not what Grandpa did to get the family business where it is today. I mean, just look at painted poinsettias, right? An insult to Mr. Poinsett if there ever was one. Thank you but no.
I think what we lose sight of is the fact that these sweet-palate innovations are an introductory tool, not a complete renovation. Here’s an example from my own life: my first experience with coffee was when I was 18. It was a Dunkin’ Donuts “regular,” which means equal parts cream and sugar—extremely sweet and with very little actual coffee flavor. Now my regular morning joe is two cups of fresh-brewed French roast with a touch of unsweetened plain soymilk, no sugar. If I had room for a countertop espresso machine I’d drink nothing but unsweetened cappuccino.
Yes, for whatever reason some customers will continue to prefer the painted plants, the lucky bamboo, the “regular” coffees, the apple-tinis and wine coolers. Some will begin to venture further into the garden center (or liquor store) to see what other products can offer them some joy and satisfaction. Because that’s what it boils down to—consumers being joyful and satisfied with the buying decisions. Who are we really to dictate what makes them happy?
GP