GROW Summit 2014 Homes In On The Issues That Keep You Up At Night
January 7, 2015 
Leading growers, suppliers and allied organization members participated in round-table discussions to come up with action items that will address industry issues.
Collaboration as an industry, we need more of it to effectively address the issues that keep us tossing and turning in our beds.
That message echoed through discussions at Greenhouse Grower’s third annual GROW Summit, a combination industry think tank and meeting of the minds, which brings together a select group of leading growers, suppliers and allied organizations to take the measure of the high-priority issues facing our industry.
During the two-day round table discussion in December, a number of ideas, questions and calls-to-action transpired. Here are a few of the highlights.
Consumers. We need to define who our next heavy users are and look at sustainable business solutions that will work long-term for consumers’ changing interests and needs.
Marketing. There seems to be a disconnect between our industry and the consumers we are trying to reach. Is there a better way we can communicate the why and how of plants, both collectively and individually?
Time. Lack of leisure time is a huge issue for our consumers. We can’t change the way people live, but we can look for ways to make our products fit into their lifestyles.
Resources. We need to identify our resources for pushing our message out to consumers. The infrastructure is in place; we just need to decide what direction we want to head.
Growth. Growing the profit pie is essential for our industry. To establish a healthy industry, we need to create a culture of being better business people and increase our market penetration by taking advantage of new opportunities.
Now it is time to take the ideas generated at GROW Summit 2014 and turn them into actions. Greenhouse Grower is committed to making that happen, and as GROW Summit participants do the same, we hope you will be reading about their successes and about ideas you can implement into your own operations in the coming months.
GROW Summit 2014 Participants
Brian Aguiar
Bela Flor Nurseries
Ken Aguilar
SolaWrap
Jen Calhoun
Benary
George Casey
Greenhouse Grower/Today’s Garden Center
Kathy Cron
Sakata Seed
Laura Drotleff
Greenhouse Grower
Tim Duffin
Ball Horticultural Co.
Don Furterer
Everris
Amanda Gallagher
Greenhouse Grower
Michael Geary
AmericanHort
Danny Gouge
Willoway Nursery
Mark Huber
The Perennial Farm
Steve Jones
Green Fuse Botanicals
Jeff Kline
BioSafe Systems, Inc.
Joe Lutey
Wojo’s Greenhouses
Yumi Marata
Suntory Flowers
Mike Marett
Rimol Greenhouses
Neil Mattson
Cornell University
Carol Miller
Greenhouse Grower/Today’s Garden Center
Kelly Norris
Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden
Delilah Onofrey
Suntory Flowers
Jim Paluch
Come Alive Outside
Susie Raker
C. Raker & Sons
Laurie Scullin
ZRB/Hortbrand
Brian Sparks
Today’s Garden Center/Greenhouse Grower
Barry Sturdivant
Wells Fargo
Stan van der Waal
Rainbow Greenhouses
Brad Wiersum
Phyton Biotech
Janeen Wright
Greenhouse Grower
Frank Zaunscherb
Plants Love You/ZRB, Inc.
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