This shift in strategy is repositioning the company from a leading wholesale grower to a known consumer brand. Costa Farms’ growth over the last 60 years has allowed it to develop vertical integration, from growing much of its own stock material in the Dominican Republic to e-commerce fulfillment out of its farms in Miami and North Carolina.
“We’ve been focused on creating programs and growing plants that meet retailer needs by appealing to the end consumer,” says Joche Smith, Costa Farms CEO. “With changing demographics and the continued enthusiasm with gardening — particularly indoor gardening — we’re seeing more consumers than ever want to communicate with the team that grew their plants. We’re embracing this opportunity to build relationships with the plant community and putting more effort into connecting with the new consumer.”
Becoming a Brand
Through consumer and competitor research, the Costa Farms team identified key segments of plant parents and prospective plant buyers, and honed in on unrealized opportunities to reach those consumers.
“With our scale, six decades of experience of growing plants, and fourth-generation heritage, we knew Costa Farms could be positioned as consumers’ go-to source of information,” says Mari Carrasquillo, Costa Farms Senior Director of Marketing, “Our new visual brand language reflects this, making Costa Farms more accessible than ever.”
Fresh Messaging
Combining bold imagery, an approachable tone, and the team’s passion for consumers to be successful with their plants led to the consumer campaign All Thumbs Are Green.
“Everyone can enjoy beautiful, healthy plants — indoors or out,” says Justin Hancock, Costa Farms Brand Marketing Manager. “We know this is true, and we’re working to create messaging across a wide variety of platforms and channels to reach the consumer so they believe it, too, even if they’ve never owned a plant before.”
Costa Farms launched a direct-to-consumer site so consumers could enjoy the opportunity to get plants fresh from the farm.
“It’s the perfect opportunity to start building their relationship with Costa Farms,” Hancock says. “We’re continuing to invest in it and grow it as a communications platform.”
The company has invested heavily in developing its direct-to-consumer business, including opening a 7-acre e-commerce facility with eight loading docks and the potential to ship up to 30,000 plants per day. This vertical integration allows us to better serve the consumer on a new scale, Carrasquillo says.
In addition to the website and its social media channels, Costa Farms has developed an educational and experiential platform called Plant Rx. It comes to life via a podcast, which is hosted by Hancock and Michelle Opela, Costa Farms Sr. Integrated Pest Manager. The duo answers consumer questions with their combined decades of personal, real-world experience, tackling everything from picking the right plant for a low-light spot to eradicating spider mites.
“The idea behind Plant Rx is a proven formula for connecting and relationship building with the consumer,” Hancock says. “We’re building Plant Rx to be a platform that allows consumers to successfully grow plants in any environment.” This includes utilizing social media platforms such as TikTok to produce bite-size planting tips for consumers to augment the longer-form podcast format.
Consumer Engagement
To build consumer enthusiasm and engagement and propel the new strategy, the team is adding sizzle to the launch with a contest that includes a plant prescription (one-on-one virtual consultations with Costa Farms horticulturists) and a year of free plants (including early access to new releases within the buzzworthy Costa Farms Trending Tropicals collection).
“By building positive, inspiring messaging across core channels that appeals to the consumer appetite for plants, targeting their specific pain points, and offering solutions, we believe plant parents will feel confident joining a brand that’s had their hands in the soil for such a long time,” Carrasquillo says.