'A pot is more than just decoration'

Selling your plant in a decorative pot. It is not only an established trend among growers, it is also more often required by the retailers. "In the US, for example, selling your plants through a big box store becomes increasingly popular. In this concept of selling, the grower has to take care of everything till the product is actually sold, including maintaining the plants and promoting them. And a good pot contributes to higher sales", says Kazuta Aoyama of Kaneya, a Japanese container manufacturer who mainly supplies growers and retailers in the USA, Japan and China.

Matthias Daisenberger of Modatech and Kazuta Aoyama of Kaneya at the IPM Essen in Germany. He's been exhibiting at this show for several years now and meets many of his Chinese and American customers.

More than just a pot
Nowadays, a pot is not just a pot anymore. This enables growers to differentiate themselves from the competition. During the IPM Essen, that took place from January 24-27 in Essen, Germany, Aoyama presented a broad range of products and many of them are equipped with a self watering or draining system. "Today's consumer wants low maintenance plants, but not all plants are. So, a pot that takes work off the consumer's hands and therefore prolongs the shelf life of the plant could be a solution", says Aoyama. "Besides that, also in the big box store, the work of the plant keeper will be reduced", he adds.

New introduction
At the IPM Essen, Aoyama showcased a new pot, that is not even named yet. In line with the current trend, this pot enables consumers to easily take care of the plant. "It is a decorative pot, which will probably become available in five colors. You can pour in the water from the side and can easily drain when you have too much water. The pot is a little transparent, so one can see the amount of water left in the pot." According to Aoyama, it is a cheaper pot as no particular self watering system is implemented, but it simplifies maintaining the plant.

For more information
Kaneya
Kazuta Aoyama
Email: kazuta.aoyama@gmail.com
www.kaneya-ltd.com