Free liquid plant food: a viable promotion

When Ontario-based Sheridan Nurseries began offering free liquid plant food, Karl Stensson may not have envisioned how long the program would run. But then again, he may have. As CEO, president and director of brand integrity for the century-old company, Stensson speaks about the program with an enthusiasm usually associated with new ideas. He credits a tour of a Natorp’s facility in Ohio with planting the idea for the giveaway, but Sheridan gave it several twists of its own.

Twenty-seven years after it started, Sheridan Nurseries’ free liquid plant food promotion is still going strong.

One of the key points distinguishing Sheridan’s program from other liquid fertilizer giveaways is that guests are not allowed to provide their own containers. The reason behind that decision is two-fold: It ensures that no harmful substances have been in the jug before, and the policy allows Sheridan to subsidize the program. Guests who take advantage of the free liquid plant food pay a $3 refundable deposit for a Sheridan jug. “Very few are returned,” Stensson says. “If they are, it is usually because the jug is damaged, moldy or covered in algae. We will gladly replace them.” He estimates that Sheridan’s eight stores now have about 25,000 jugs in circulation.

Each in-store set up involves a 450-liter tank (about 120 U.S. gallons) fitted with a tap and placed on a stand that brings it to a comfortable, easy-to-use height for guests.

“On a busy spring weekend, we can fill a tank four times in a day,” Stensson says. “It is good to have a permanent hose and tap running into the top of the tank, so someone can put in the fertilizer and turn on the tap to fill, instead of dragging a hose to fill it each time.”

Sheridan uses typical plastic storage tanks on stands welded by a local welder. “All in, the tanks including purchase, outfitting and painting cost under $1,000,” says Stensson.

The jugs used in Sheridan’s program are the same ones used by windshield washer fluid companies. Each jug holds 4 liters or 1.05 U.S. gallons, with a minimum buy of 2,500 jugs at a time. Sheridan outfits the jugs with their own customized, stick-on label designating the contents as Sheridan Plant Food.

“If you call it fertilizer, our laws state that we must list the exact composition in the container, and we cannot do that because we are hand mixing,” Stensson explains.

Empty jugs are displayed by the self-service tanks, so guests can help themselves. Caps, however, are kept only at the cash counter. An uncapped jug quickly distinguishes a first-time user from someone returning for a refill.

Sheridan’s total cost for each empty, customized jug runs 90 cents, broken down as follows: 75 cents for the jug, 5 cents for the cap and 10 cents for the label. That leaves $2.10 from the $3 deposit to cover fertilizer costs. When Sheridan first started running the offer, suppliers provided fertilizer at no cost. That changed, but Stensson’s commitment to the program didn’t. A 33-pound bag of 20-20-20, at a cost of about $38.50, will fill a tank six times. Stensson figures that’s roughly 685 jugs at 5.5 cents per jug. He then adds 1 cent for water and 2 cents for labor to fill and clean the tanks, ending with a final cost of 8.5 cents per filled jug. “You then can calculate that you don’t start to lose any money until the guest has returned about 25 times to your store,” Stensson says.

Stensson acknowledges the program has its critics, including those who feel customers come in, take the free fertilizer and leave, but Stensson isn’t deterred by that scenario. “Some people have 20 jugs in the trunk of their Cadillac, but that means they paid $60 for those jugs. They still have to return 25 times before we start to lose money,” Stensson points out.

He also believes that bringing a guest back for 8.5 cents — after they’ve already been in your store 25 times — beats most other advertising. “Our job is to sell them something or at least tempt them with something each time they return,” he says. If the guest leaves with nothing but free plant food, Stensson doesn’t feel that reflects poorly on the program.

“What do we do to sell them? We have to capture them with product and impulse displays. We have to talk with them. Don’t let them walk in and walk out.”

Taking a cue from milk at the grocery store, Sheridan locates the tanks in the back area of their stores. Guests whos come, fill and leave still see all the store has to offer. In the winter, the tanks are located in Sheridan’s greenhouses.

Stensson anticipates and answers a question many might have: Sheridan’s fertilizer sales have not been hurt by the program. It’s a win-win situation for guests and the company from Stensson’s perspective.

“The cool thing is they think they’re winning and we know we’re winning,” he states. And what happens when guests get tired of filling the jugs? Sheridan has that covered, too: “They will see that the fertilizer works and then buy our house brand, which we merchandize next to the tanks.”

 

Jolene is a freelance writer and former hort professional quietly reshaping the way people experience gardens and gardening.