SmartPlant, a horticultural data company based in Nebraska, has rolled out a new insight tool for growers and garden retailers.
Also called SmartPlant, the tool — or “intelligence layer,” as the company calls it — will help growers, retailers, breeders, manufacturers and brands make better business decisions by bringing together fragmented consumer, plant, retail, growers and market data to generate helpful insights.
“The next evolution of horticulture isn’t simply about collecting more data; it’s about building connected intelligence,” company founder and CEO Bert Wahlen stated in a release. “Data can tell a business what happened, and analytics can explain what is happening. But true intelligence reveals why it is happening and what may happen next. We have spent years quietly building the data infrastructure, plant taxonomy, and technology needed to give businesses a fundamentally different, predictive view of their markets so they can make better-informed decisions.”
Gathering market insights: A few years ago, SmartPlant rolled out a separate smartphone app for gardeners, called Garden Sage. It provides consumers with a plant identifier, along with information and care solutions, and product information. This app for gardeners is, in turn, generating data and insights on consumer needs, simply based on how consumers are using the app. With SmartPlant’s new business tool, retailers can see shifting local consumer demand and emerging product preferences, while growers can see earlier indicators of changing market needs. This in turn can better inform their seasonal production and crop planning.
Board insight: Tom Fessler, owner of Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas Inc. (Woodburn, Oregon), joined SmartPlant as a board member and has become a SmartPlant partner.
“My whole goal in getting in on the front end of the app is to drive our end consumers to our garden center customers,” he said. “We want to educate the end consumers about the plants we grow and track what is selling in different regions of the country so we can adjust the product mix to match what consumers want. The additional benefit is a production management tool to help us be a better grower.”
Mark Bigej, owner of Al’s Garden & Home, is excited about how the Garden Sage app will help gardeners succeed, as well as the insights retailers like him will gain from the resulting data.
“We are excited about the ability of customers to use the app to help them keep track of the plants in their yard, including care and culture tips and reminders to help them be successful,” he said. “From the app, we are able to gather nationwide trends and types of plants customers are interested in, helping us decide what we should carry to ensure we have what our customers want.”
For a demonstration, contact Bert Wahlen at Bert@SmartPlantHome.com or call: 619-944-6479.