Jiffy Off & Running At Spring Trials
April 14, 2010 
Jiffy is exhibiting for the first time this year at California Spring Trials, where the company unveiled its “Plant In A Jiffy” program targeting garden center retailers. Essentially, Jiffy plans to produce paper sleeves and attractive plant carriers that garden center retailers would offer as impulse items in checkout areas. Consumers would potentially buy the plugs in sleeves—or multiple plugs made available in carriers—and have the ability to plant plugs directly into the ground or in containers with sleeves because they’re biodegradable.
Another component of the program is the growth media used. Jiffy has developed a bonded growth media called Preforma that growers would use to propagate plugs in the “Plant In A Jiffy” program. Growers could then work with retailers to make plugs consumer friendly. Jiffy General Manager Rick Friedrich says we could see the “Plant In A Jiffy” program in stores this fall.
Jiffy is currently offering Preforma for mums and poinsettias, and it will make Preforma available in any tray size.
Jiffy has also developed a paper plug for growers using high-quality growth media from Tref, a European company it acquired a few years ago. Tref is well known for producing Pindstrup in Europe. Now, that same product will be available through Jiffy in U.S. growing mixes. Jiffy is building a new soil mixing facility in Georgia to accommodate the expected demand.
“Tref has been forming mixes for 100 years,” says Laurie Scullin, a marketing consultant who’s working with Jiffy on “Plant In A Jiffy” and other programs. “Its growth media will translate right into our paper plugs.”
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