Stepables strolls into the spotlight

Wednesday, 24 January 2007

Frances Hopkins, president of Under A Foot Plant Co., has taken plant branding to a new level. The Stepables program she created has brought lowly groundcover plants into the spotlight. Hopkins’ efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. She’s won two industry marketing awards over the past two years and continues to expand the Stepables brand.

Hopkins’ success is due in part to her extensive green-industry experience. She started off working as a garden center manager for Builder’s Emporium in California. Then came a stint at Armstrong Garden Centers where she worked as an annual/perennial buyer and later as an assistant grower for the wholesale division.

Hopkins eventually decided to strike out on her own and purchased a wholesale nursery in Oregon.

“I sold perennials and groundcovers for eight years until I came up with Stepables,” she said. “I sold my brand for the first two years to my independent garden centers until I had successfully kicked off a national campaign to distribute Stepables everywhere in the U.S. and Canada.”

Eye-catching point-of-purchase materials are the hallmark of the Stepables program. But Hopkins is quick to emphasize that POP items must be more than a pretty picture.

“We need as an industry to embrace the POP concept,” she said. “We are the only industry I know of that has no manuals attached to the product; no boxes with instructions on the back with basic advice to help consumers with their purchase.”

Stepables marketing materials are packed with information, detailing how, when and where to plant. Hopkins said this is the best way to help consumers and boost retailers’ bottom line.

“Garden centers’ dollars are stretched beyond any ability to help all the customers coming through the door,” she said. “How does a consumer make an intelligent purchase without a salesman to help them? POP is a garden center’s best friend.”

Retailers can expect to see more Stepables products in the coming year. Hopkins will focus on selling projects for gardeners and families. She already has launched a successful venture with Green Piece Wire Art, which gives consumers tools to create whimsical topiaries.

“The sky is the limit,” Hopkins said. “I know exactly where I want to take my brand. We have the ability to become a true household name and it’s my aim to make that happen.”