Positioning of sustainable gardening products in retail sales markets

Status

completed

Summary

House gardens, terraces as well as balconies are essential local recreation areas of growing importance. The amount of household expenses spent on gardening products increased by 22 % since 2002 and added up to around 670 million € in 2007.

Gardening is an economic sector that poses substantial threat to the environment. Sustainable gardening products are commonly unknown to customers, difficult to obtain or insufficiently labelled.

Improving the supply of sustainable gardening products not only brings along a potentially higher volume of sales but also implies a high potential for the prevention of environmental impacts/threats.

The aim of the project "Positioning sustainable products in garden centres" is to develop a successful marketing strategy for sustainable gardening products. It is intended to move sustainable gardening products out of the eco-niche and give them a bigger share on the market by increasing and diversifying their supply by garden centres. At the same time sustainable behaviour of consumers will be promoted by taking into consideration the motifs for purchase and lifestyle issues. Increasing the sustainable management of gardens will reduce environmental impacts and improve the quality of life respectively. The concept is intended as an impetus for retailers selling gardening products to expand the assortment of sustainable products and increase their sales volume by introducing appropriate marketing strategies.

In a first step relevant labels and their corresponding criteria were researched and documented.

Different channels of sale relevant for Austrian consumers were investigated and illustrated. Successful marketing strategies for sustainable gardening products in German speaking countries were presented as best practice examples. Based on the results of this market analysis and a desk research optimum shopping arguments and paths of communication as well as optimized marketing strategies and structures of retailing for sustainable gardening products were developed.

An optimum assortment catalogue was created listing around 760 sustainable gardening products. The results were summarized in the guidelines for the successful implementation of the introduction/enhancement of the supply of sustainable products in Austrian garden centres.

Together with one Austrian gardening centre chain (Bellaflora) as project partner an implementation concept for the increased commercialisation of sustainable gardening products was developed.

The results of this project will facilitate the choice of sustainable garden products by consumers and thereby reduce environmental pollution.

Project management

DI Gerda Hüfing
Verband Wiener Volksbildung - "die umweltberatung"

Project or cooperation partner

• Verband Wiener Volksbildung - "die umweltberatung":
  DI Manfred Pendl
  Mag. Bernadette Pokorny
  Mag. Elisabeth Tangl
  DI Ingrid Tributsch
  Sibylle Unger
  Mag. Barbara Fuchshuber
• Bellaflora:
  Gabriele Stutz
  Nikolaus Doderer BSc, MSc
  Mag. Nikolaus Thaller

Verband Wiener Volksbildung - "die umweltberatung"
DI Gerda Hüfing
Hollergasse 22
1150 Wien
E-Mail: gerda.huefing@umweltberatung.at