9 minute read
Glee 2021 Gallery
Bringing wildlife into the garden with WildPod™
BioScapes®, a new business in the Rolawn Group, launched their WildPod™ product at Glee. This unique one stop wildlife habitat is an easy way to attract more wildlife into any garden as it contains an ideal range of homes, houses, refuges, nooks, and crannies. With planting areas built in for pollinator planting schemes WildPod™ makes an attractive addition to the garden at the same time as helping to create healthy ecosystems and promote gains in biodiversity where they are used.
Garland
Graland National sales manager Mark Dedman recalled the challenges of meeting unprecedented demand in a pandemicdisrupted year. The surge of renewed interest in grow-your-own, home propagation and gardening in general during lockdown led to well-documented product shortages across the board, and Garland were not alone in struggling to keep up as retailers searched for availability.
However, Mark tells us, the company put on a staggering £5.4m in sales during the past year. “We would come in and often find a week’s worth of orders in a single day,” he said. “It was the picking and packing that caused us problems.”
Unlike some competitors, Garland designs and makes most of its products in the UK at its West Midlands factory, which employs 60 staff, supplemented by agency workers. The company is proud of its sustainability performance – all packaging is either re-cycled or 100% recyclable. Mark says research shows that plastics in a closed-loop recycling system have a significantly lower carbon footprint than cardboard and paper.
Spread some joy with Woodmansterne cards
After receiving such a positive reception when exhibiting at Glee for the first time in 2019 the Woodmansterne team returned for 2021 with great impact. A third-generation family business based in Watford, Hertfordshire the company is headed up by Managing Director, Seth Woodmansterne. Seth comments, “It is great to be back and we are delighted to be showcasing our product to our growing garden retail audience. The show provides a fantastic opportunity to engage with our existing customers as well as meeting new ones. As a category greetings cards are a great footfall driver providing add-on sales and helping to boost basket values.”
New products and infrastructure investment for Zest 4 Leisure
Garden furniture and garden structure specialist, Zest 4 Leisure (stand number 20A40-C41) is launched a range of new products for the 2022 season at Glee.
Commenting on new product design and development, Managing Director, Steve Morgan said, “There has been a huge increase in the number of consumers wanting to enjoy their outdoor space whether for relaxation, entertaining and growing their own vegetables and decorative plants. It is more vital than ever to ensure that all these new consumers – as well as existing gardeners and garden leisure enthusiasts - can achieve their outdoor aspirations easily and quickly. Zest has always created attractive, comfortable, and cleverly designed products – and we have won many awards as a result. Now we are keen to build the convenience factor into our range, maximising choice and flexibility.”
Bringing compost home with the EasyMix Tumbling Composter
Hozelock has introduced the EasyMix 2-in-1 tumbling composter for the easy mixing of home and garden waste. With 100 litre capacity, the composter can make compost 3 times faster than conventional composters. This means consumers can benefit from having soil-enriching compost ready in just 6-8 weeks. With a robust compact design, the drum can simply be rolled around the garden to distribute the compost with ease. The built-in reservoir collects the compost juice and the integrated ‘Click and Spray’ hose applicator means that it is easy to fertilise your plants. Manufactured from 85% recycled plastic the composter itself is 100% recyclable and the enclosed lockable lid means prevents pests and bad smells, making it ideal for the garden, garage, or balcony. With an estimated additional 3 million dog owners in the UK following lockdown there is increased interest in products for pets. Over half of these owners are under the age of 34 and so are more than happy to purchase products to pamper and care for their pooch.
One company making its mark (or should that be bark) at Glee was Sniffe & Lickitt. This new venture which was set up at the end of 2020 by Lee Sargent comprises of a range of grooming products for dogs all based on natural aromatherapy scents. With a background in home and beauty care Lee felt there was a gap in the market for attractively packaged natural products for dogs, that sit well on the shelf rather than being hidden away. The scents all chosen from those that are found to be relaxing or stimulating for dogs such as juniper. In their Home Barking Kits nutritional ingredients like chicken liver and sweet potato are joined by chia seeds, coconut and turmeric – all good for helping with coat and condition. www. sniffeandlikitt.com Scoff Paper have come up with the first edible rawhide free greetings card for dogs! Founded only 12 months ago by Matthew Fairhurst and Gemma Connolly the couple were inspired when one of the guide dogs that they board decided to take a chunk out of a regular greetings card. Made from potato starch with edible ink designs the cards are vegan friendly as well as being a big hit with our four-legged friends. The range has developed from simply birthday cards to something for every occasion. www.scoffpaper.com When it comes to play time Collarways have it sorted with their West Paw dogs toys. Made from sustainable recyclable plastic, including reclaimed ocean-bound plastic (Seaflex), the range includes the Drifty (a dishwasher friendly bone), the Saliz (a durable and light frisbee) and the Snorkl (for dogs who like bones, boomerangs and tug-of-war. A great range of durable, safe and sustainable toys for dogs to enjoy. www.collarways.co.uk
Name that Seed Mix!
Copdock Mill used Glee as an opportunity to engage with retailers by asking them to vote for the name of their new bird seed mix, which includes aniseed. Visitors to the stand can vote for their preferred name from the following options:- Attract More Birds, Birds that Brunch, Enchanted Delight, Wild Attraction and Twitter Party with the winning name; Wild Attraction, announced on Thursday.
The Copdock Mill team have joined up with Songbird Survival – a national charity that funds research into song bird decline and provides advice and solutions on how to reverse this worrying trend. Over the last 50 years there has been a reduction of 50% of song birds in the UK. Copdock Mill have provided the charity with £25,000 over the course of their initial two-year partnership – helping to fund important research and raise awareness through adding information to the product packaging.
Paper trials for Keift s& Sons
With sustainability on everyone’s lips at Glee, it was no surprise to find a number of new packaging solutions alongside the product innovation, especially the drive away from single use plastic.
To address the issue of the perforated plastic packets in which euro-hook pre-pack bulbs are sold, bulb supplier Kieft & Sons had decided to trial paper packs. “They worked very well for bulbs like daffodils, tulips and crocus but we discovered they are not so suitable for things elike dahlia tubers, because of the higher moisture content,” director Anthony Bird told us.
Pleydell Portraits
Design and business consultant Paul Pleydell of Pleydell Smithyman Ltd invited three visitors to his Glee stand to show their creative sides – by sketching a portrait of him. Glee event director Matthew Mein, Mark Murray of Newspan and Ferry Breugem of Smiemans all duly obliged, with the results on show for all to see on the stand. “They all produced a good likeness, but I think one in particular captured my image very well,” Paul told us.
Which one? You decide – and let Paul know! paul@pleydellsmithyman.co.uk
Michael Weedon and team were so busy at Glee taking orders for their Robo-Time range of model DIY kits. “When buyers saw the full range of the kits they were queuing up to order the display cabinets and get supplies in for the run up to Christmas. The greenhouse kit; Cathys Flower HFlower Houseouse was was the mthe most ost popular popular to to be be orderedordered at at Glee” Glee”
Hills thrilled in Green Heart
The Green Heart – Glee’s horticultural hub crowned Hills Plants as winners of its 2021 Best Glee Green Heart Display award. As first time exhibitors, not just the Glee Green Heart but exhibitions in general, the award was warmly received by the team at Hills Plants, who used Glee to promote its range of British grown houseplants to garden retailers and plant buyers.
Now in its seventh year, the GIMA Innovators Seed Corn Fund has helped to bring to market a series of brands, many of which are considered key players helping to drive growth and diversification of the garden retail sector. This year’s winner, Pot-mate™, is a simple yet highly efficient solution to a common problem associated with container gardening. So often pots, whether on a patio or deck, suffer from drainage issues or leave unsightly marks and rings where dirt and mould has been able to go undetected underneath the pot. With Potmate™’s innovative, UK-manufactured design these issues are a thing of the past.
100% Recycled Wild Bird Care packaging from Marriages
Marriages launched the first wild bird care packaging made from 100% post-industrial recycled material, which is also 100% recyclable after at Glee. Also 100% biodegradable, it will naturally break down completely within a year, leaving no micro-plastics behind. Packaging is also sourced 50 miles from the manufacturing site reducing the carbon footprint.
