Garden Centre Buyer speaks to Dan Durston about the evolution of this great British growing media brand.
How was Durstons first founded?
Durstons has been in existence for over 160 years. Aquilla Durston bought the first piece of land in 1860. He cut peat by hand for fuel and delivered it door to door around Street with a horse and cart.
Making a move into the growing media category became an obvious step. Throughout all of this we have always been family owned with six generations of the Durston family having been involved in our longevity.
A lot of changes have taken place over the last 160 years, not least the transformation of our manufacturing processes which were once all completed manually but are now fully automated, backed by a state-of-the-art facility that has both production and packaging capabilities. These facilities enable us to not only fulfil our annual orders but also to be highly adaptable to customer demands. Unlike the larger brands, we can quickly adapt or change our product base, meaning we can be much more responsive to peaks in demand and changing consumer needs.
It is this approach to customer service with has also helped Durstons to carve out its position within the marketplace. Recognising that the highest possible product quality counts for a lot, the team has also made it its mission to ensure that customers are fully supported with all aspects of ordering, fulfilment, and stocking. It is this reliance and confidence in the brand that has helped the brand become a major player in recent years.
The development of the Durstons brand has seen our reach expand across the country, with stock in place in garden centres, farm shops, DIY and hardware stores, and many of the sheds. We are proud of what we have created but even more so, we are excited about what is to come. We are at a tipping point presently as we move into a peat-free future and for us, this will represent a significant chapter in our history.
The Durstons offering is focused on delivering quality, UK-sourced growing media products. The current range includes volume ranges such as multi-purpose compost plus a leading peat-free offering. Additionally, we offer a selection of John Innes composts, specialist composts including seed & cutting, tub & basket, bulb fibre, rose tree & shrub, and ericaceous options. Adding even more value for retailers is Durstons’ soil additives, bark, grow bags and vegetable planters.
Our aim is to provide a product portfolio that provides a true one-stop shop of core and added-value growing media ranges. We want to make life easy for retailers in that they don’t need to shop around but know that Durstons can deliver what is needed most throughout the growing season.
What are Durstons’ USPs?
We truly believe that our origins as a family business – and our desire to maintain this status – has helped us to create a unique position within a market so often dominated by the big corporates. For us, our customer service levels, UK-manufacturing, ability to adapt quickly and respond to immediate needs during the season provides us with a real point of difference.
We are also proud to have been one of the first growing media manufacturers to introduce 100% recyclable packaging, which we know generates increased confidence at the point of sale. Finally, we are immensely proud of ‘Gro Boost’ – a unique organic additive which stimulates growth and features exclusively in the majority of our products. This specially formulated blend of organic materials from renewable sources allows Durstons to be less reliant on peat whilst providing plants with a vital nutrient boost throughout the growth cycle.
How does the brand incorporate sustainability?
Durstons currently has a long-term vision for incorporating sustainability with a peat-free future at the heart of this. The team is currently working hard to expand our peat-free offering without compromising on quality and looking to avoid over saturating the range with ‘me too’ products for the sake of it. Instead, our focus will be on core products that will drive volume sales and help gardeners to continue to achieve their home growing aspirations. We appreciate that a move away from peat can be a contentious subject but as sustainability becomes a planet-saving imperative and consumers are asking more from both manufacturer and retailers, we welcome the changes that are taking place and are excited to bring to market more peat-free options.
Will Durstons be attending any trade shows this year?
As always, we will be attending Glee later this year. Glee is an important part of our annual marketing calendar as it supports us meeting with both existing and potential customers. The exhibition is also a great way to network with the wider industry and engage in important conversations regarding the longevity of garden retail and, more importantly for us, a peat-free future.
