The Westland stand at Glee was flourishing with innovation and packed for the full duration of the show. Marketing manager, Sara Bazeley, talked us through some of the hottest new launches across the different brands she takes care of.
The tour started with Unwins, which has introduced Houseplant Seeds, a fantastic concept that focuses on “tried and tested varieties” that are virtually fool-proof and will deliver really good results.
For the wider seed collection Unwins has “focused on easy wins. Lots of people want to do grow your own so we’ve simplified the range to make the process as clear as possible, with the aim of demystifying grow your own.” The range is completed with some beautiful wildflower selections.
Over at Kent and Stowe, a beautiful premium brand for the discerning gardener, were giftable watering cans which had been strengthened at the base and finished off with an embossed for the first time with the Kent and Stowe logo. Another highlight was a brand new premium watering set that means households can wave goodbye to ugly plastic hosepipes that make their pristine gardens look untidy! “This fits in with a high end consumer lifestyle” says Sara, “and is also frost proof to minus 30 with reduced leaks”. An RRP of £149 for the full set puts this in the realm of gifts for gardeners.
Peckish and Gardman also had their eye on the gift market with bird food mixes in gift boxes, the ideal stocking fillers for bird watchers. This being the nation’s favourite hobby, there’s the potential for huge volume sales as we head into winter, which is great news for garden centres that stock Gardman’s supreme blend garden centre exclusive.
Next up was one of Westland’s most ingenious new offerings, consisting of a multi-faceted planter bag of peat free growing media. The oblong boxy bag can be positioned in three different ways – down flat, or resting on either the long side or short side – depending on the type of vegetable or fruit you want to grow. A big thumbs up from GCB!
We finished off the tour with Westland’s brand new Pure Green Lawn Seed, which will be fresh to the market in January. Watch this space for more details!
