How a small label adjustment can contribute to higher sales

Consumers and their preferences changed over time. Not only the appearance of plants on the shelf, but also the labels are becoming more important. For this reason more breeders are offering POS material along with their varieties. "More often, people buy plants in full bloom and when they are not in full bloom, the label should show how it will look like when it is blooming. However, this is not enough anymore", says Erick Ciraud of French dipladenia breeding company D.H.M. Innovation. They are also supplying their Diamantina dipladenia collection with labels and just made a small adjustment that is expected to boost the plant sales.

Erick Ciraud of DHM Innovation at the FlowerTrials 2017.

What can I do with this plant? According to Erick Ciraud, it is an important question among the end consumers when they see a plant on display. And for a dipladenia, knowing the plant habit before planting seems to be quite important. "We bring a lot of new varieties on the market and we, in the chain, all know the growing habits of each variety, but the consumer does not. On top of that, we have had some conversations with several garden centers and they pointed out that labels, next to being simple, need to be clearer too."

For this reason, D.H.M.I made a small adjustment to their existing labels and expect these changes to have a great impact on the plant sales. They used to present the variety name right after the brand, followed by a photo of the variety in bloom. Now, the brand name will be followed by the plant habit, compact or climbing, then the photo of the variety in bloom and closing with the variety name. "We decided not to change the position of the brand name as branding remains important for our varieties in order to be recognized. We added the plant habit right after as we want to answer the questions of the consumer right away. We decided to choose simple words (compact and climbing) translated in five languages on the label, for easy understanding of the plant usage", says Erick Ciraud.

On the left the old label, displaying the variety name right underneath the brand name. On the right the new label, displaying the plant habit right underneath the brand name. At the bottom, the variety name is presented.

Next to this small adjustment on the label, they are also working on a QR code that can be put on the label. "This QR code will direct the consumers to a website that will give them more information about the plant and what they can do with the plant."

"It is all about simplification and clarification. Together with the garden centers, we have high hopes that it will contribute to higher plant sales."

Sales Guide
Next to these labels, D.H.M.I also introduced a sales guide for growers and garden centers. Also for this guide simplification and clarification are key words. In this guide, they divided their assortment in three groups; compact climbing and limited edition varieties. On top of that, they offer some tips how to put the Diamantina dipladenias on display. Placing compact and climbing varieties together and placing the labels steady and facing the consumers for easy reading is one of the tips given.

Diamantina Opale Orange Coral of DHM Innovation used in a combination. This dipladenia won the Best Innovation award 2016 at the IPM Essen. Orange Coral features a new color. It is slightly smaller than standard dipladenia types, the flowers are colored in shades of orange. Plant habit is comparable to the other Diamantina varieties belonging to the Opale series.

Cultivate'17
D.H.M. Innovation will be present at the Cultivate'17 at booth number 3647. The Cultivate is being held in Columbus, OH, USA from July 15-18, 2017.

For more information
D.H.M. Innovation
Erick Ciraud
Email: erick.ciraud@lannes.pro
www.lannes.pro