Big 10: The way of the future

Greenleaf Nursery Co. developed its own branded plant line, is offering product year-round to the marketplace, and it’s making the product retail-ready. In short, it’s keeping up with the changes taking place in the industry.

“You know if you look at our industry, we’ve gone through a lot of changes over the last few years and we’re constantly changing, so we’re having to constantly develop new strategies to fit that changing market,” says Randy Davis, president of Greenleaf Nursery.

The company realized that customers were actually shopping for plants throughout the year instead of just in typical seasons, so it started offering product year-round.

“Our industry used to be what I call farm-crop mentality, and we used to have product ready in the spring and the fall and that was about it,” he says. “And now people really do shop for our product year-round.”

The company also focused on its time delivery, so when a garden center or landscaper needed a short order filled quickly, Greenleaf Nursery would be able to provide. It helps that the company has four production sites in three states — Oklahoma, Texas and North Carolina — to better meet its customers’ needs. For example, Greenleaf Nursery can produce tropical plants at its site in Texas, and then market those plants to other locations.

One of the big things Greenleaf Nursery is focusing on is its branded plant line, Garden Debut. The line was developed when the company decided it would be better off to have its own brand and market its products through that brand than trying to go with another one.
 

“Branded product is the way of the future,” he says. “If we’re going to be a leader, we need to have our brand that we manage.”

So far, the branded line has been a success. Davis says that it’s currently the company’s fastest growing product line.

But at the end of the day, it all comes down to quality, and being able to offer a great product. He says the company has always strived to produce very predictable, quality plants at a reasonable price, and sticking to that regardless of difficult times.

“We know that our customers have to be successful with our product for us to be successful,” Davis says. “We know that. And we’re dedicated to it. We really believe in it.”
 

For more: Greenleaf Nursery Co., (800) 331-2982 or www.greenleafnursery.com