ScottsMiracle-Gro is Building on its Live Goods Momentum
August 28, 2018 
The Miracle-Gro Head Start program, launched this spring with Proven Winners, boosts consumer success by ensuring they receive plants that have already received controlled-release fertilizer during production. Photo by ScottsMiracle-Gro.
With ScottsMiracle-Gro’s renewed interest in Live Goods since its investment in Bonnie Plants, the ScottsMiracle-Gro team has begun building other efforts to capitalize on more categories in addition to vegetables and herbs, beginning with the new Miracle-Gro Head Start Program.
“Unless our consumer is successful, we won’t be successful, and that was the genesis of the 3x Harvest Guarantee for this year, and certainly was the beginning of the Miracle-Gro Head Start program,” says Research and Development Vice President of Live Goods Bob Harriman of ScottsMiracle-Gro.
In its consumer research, Scotts has found that more than two-thirds of consumers will place their plants in very poor soil, or in containers that have growing media that’s one year old or older. That compounds the Brown Thumb issue significantly, Harriman says, because if consumers aren’t feeding their plants sufficiently, or don’t even know how to, the industry is setting consumers up for failure, not success. The Miracle-Gro Head Start program provides consumers with plants that have already received controlled-release fertilizer during production that activates once the plant is in the garden or container.
“It helps our consumer get off to a great start, and helps us build their confidence to further reinforce their cycle of success, and the circle of trust,” Harriman says. “In our industry, we often think our success starts and ends with the plant, but for all of us, it begins and ends with the consumer.”
The Miracle-Gro Head Start program started with a teaser launch this year, at 30 independent garden centers throughout the Midwest and New England. ScottsMiracle-Gro is working in conjunction with Proven Winners, using its genetics to trial the program, and so far there’s been good feedback, Harriman says. There’s some real-time work going on to expand the program, which may offer some exciting things to talk about in 2019.
“Since we’ve been out of the color game for a bit, we wanted to get in and work the process and build co-branding relationships,” Harriman says. “We’re looking to grow this program across other brands and species, so it’s certainly a big platform that could be used across the industry.”
Last year, the company recruited Live Goods Director Hank Bukowski, who is a well-known grower with a prolific career working and managing large-scale operations.
“Getting back into color, it was important for our program to bring on a senior-level person with some experience in the industry and insights, particularly on the grower side of things,” Harriman says.
Scotts Walks the Walk on Sustainability Initiatives
One of the little-known facts about ScottsMiracle-Gro, Harriman says, is that it is the largest recycler of green waste in the country, handling 5 billion pounds of organic and other green waste material annually.
“We’ve been walking the walk for a long time, and quietly behind the scenes we’ve invested heavily to build sustainability programs,” he says. “We have a legacy of sustainability and finding better ways to take care of lawns and gardens.”
Organic growing media has been available from ScottsMiracle-Gro for some time. Products in the new Miracle-Gro Performance Organics line will add to this offering, with the goal of that team to deliver the traditional Miracle-Gro product performance with an organic, OMRI-certified background. In-ground and container trials are in progress, including comparison trials with conventional Miracle-Gro products.
The ScottsMiracle-Gro Foundation has been actively investing in pollinator initiatives over the past several years, as well. Since 2015, it has engaged in a multi-year Pollinator Promise effort to help gardeners and urban planners understand the critical role pollinators play in our ecosystem and to provide them with the tools necessary to grow successful pollinator gardens.
In late May, the ScottsMiracle-Gro Foundation and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) announced their partnership to collaborate on a new “Parks for Pollinators” campaign aimed at raising public awareness of pollinator health and encouraging local action through public parks and pollinator gardens. The campaign was developed to address the critical need to increase pollinator habitats for beneficial insects and pollinators.
Additionally, ScottsMiracle-Gro recently launched a new effort called Bee Responsible, a retail awareness campaign in partnership with the Pollinator Stewardship Council for pollinator protection, to provide consumers with information at retail on how to responsibly use pesticides, fertilizers, and other garden products, without putting pollinator habitats at risk.
“We’re really excited to provide this because we think a lot of people are looking for that kind of information, right alongside where they’re purchasing the product,” says ScottsMiracle-Gro Public Affairs Director Molly Jennings.
“Consumers are putting these live goods and colorful blooms in their home spaces to build valuable pollinator habitats, so we want to make sure they get the information they’re looking for online or at purchase, and at their local park. We want them to have really easy, simple, actionable steps that are easy to find.”
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