Overdevest Nurseries in
Bridgeton,
N.J., has been supplying vines, perennials and trees to retailers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic since the 1950s. In 2002, owner Ed Overdevest introduced Garden Splendor, a branding program exclusively for independent garden centers.
It was an unusual move, and detractors said Overdevest Nurseries wasn’t big enough to make it work. But, thanks to careful planning, the program has thrived. The success of the Garden Splendor brand helped Overdevest clinch the title of Nursery Grower of the Year, presented by NMPRO, Nursery Management & Production. It has also given his company more recognition in the industry.
“We’re getting considerable attention from independent garden centers,” Overdevest said. “Unlike any other brand, we offer independents a way to differentiate.”
The company’s Garden Splendor line essentially becomes a premium store brand when you add up all the marketing elements. Point-of purchase materials and pot wraps are personalized with the garden center’s name. Plants come with anodized aluminum markers that can be used as a permanent identifier in the garden.
The program also has online marketing elements. Overdevest Nurseries posts photos of weekly arrivals on the retailer’s Web site. Garden centers can also sign up for the Garden Splendor e-magazine campaign. E-mails spotlighting timely selections are created by Overdevest Nurseries and distributed to consumers targeted by the retailer.
“We’re as close as one can come to a private label,” Overdevest said. “And we think that’s the ultimate aim of garden centers. It allows them to truly differentiate from mass merchants.”
Overdevest Nurseries is taking steps to expand the Garden Splendor line.
“We’ve had a number of growers contact us,” Overdevest said. “We’re looking for growers that handle multi-state territory. Ones that focus on quality and independent retailers. We have a pretty tight profile of nurseries we’re looking for.”
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