Using printed pots? Make sure you have inventory to back it up

Printed nursery pots became mainstream in the mid 1990s. Companies like Anthony Tesselaar USA broke ground by selling its roses in pink containers emblazoned with the Flower Carpet logo.

In the early 2000s, Bailey Nurseries created a brand for its Endless Summer hydrangeas primarily through the use of blue promotional pots.

Today, technology has made using printed pots cheaper and more available to smaller growers across the country. But when does using printed, promotional pots make financial sense?

The answer? Don’t launch such a program to promote a particular plant product unless you have the inventory to back it up, said Bill Doeckel, general manager for Ball Innovations in West Chicago, Ill.

Ball Horticultural Co.’s biggest success with branded pots has been the company’s Wave petunia series, which has been around 20 years. The company now promotes dozens of lines for the floriculture industry, as well as a line of woodies through Ball Ornamentals.

“But if there’s one thing we learned the hard way, it’s don’t get ahead of yourself,” Doeckel said. “In our experience you need inventory in the millions, even tens of millions, for these programs to be effective and become recognizable names to consumers.”

Of course that’s on a national scale. For growers that service regional markets, these numbers would be much smaller.

Ball has no time schedule planned for when it will begin selling its Ball Ornamentals products in printed pots.

For more: Ball Horticultural Co., (630) 231-3500; www.ballhort.com.