"Proven Winners is just getting started"
Even from the early days, there were doubters, says Tom Smith, president of Four Star Greenhouse. “Some people thought we couldn’t make it when we brought out varieties like Calibrachoa and vegetative Angelonia,” he recalls. “We could have developed them from seed like others, but we didn’t. Those plants debuted well and have had strong sales and market share ever since.”
As a brand, Proven Winners has grown stronger each year and expanded its new variety introductions and improvements, marketing heavily via pull-through advertising to create demand, and encouraging homeowners to experience the joys of gardening. These are key drivers of Proven Winners today, according to Smith.
Proven Winners works with breeders around the world and trials its own plants in a lengthy multi-year process to determine market viability. But it also works with researchers across the country who test plants in real-life garden performance conditions. Consistently, these plants have won awards. “We’re still the only brand out there with tons of garden performance awards through the years,” Smith says.
Sharon and Tom Smith
Partnering with growers
As a Proven Winners member, Four Star Greenhouse has developed several initiatives to help growers grow more efficiently and save money at the same time, he says. “We’ve worked hard to develop these programs that truly benefit growers of all sizes. For instance, Supernova liners give growers faster turns. Our Benchrun collections of bestsellers help growers grow more efficiently. Bundled combinations give them much more simplified ordering and production.”
After more than three years of testing, Four Star has just introduced the new 104 liners, which debuted in 2017 on specific, high-selling varieties. Smith explains, “We know Proven Winners plants aren’t cheap because of the marketing fees, so we developed these new liners as a way to help growers keep their costs down. It took a lot of planning to develop these. Basically, there is zero difference for the grower between our 84 liner and the 104 liner, but with the 104, growers get more plants in the same size tray and a lower delivered cost than with last year’s 84 liners.”
The 2017 trial went well and Four Star is now offering them for 2018 in many more varieties. “Growers love them because the plants get the same treatment and care with no extra crop time and excellent quality,” he points out. “They told us they wanted more varieties! We haven’t had a single negative comment.”
Read the full story at the Four Star Greenhouse website.