the big interview


The Bord na Móna facilities in Ireland produce a broad range of Growise products and the Growing Media Academy is designed to help retailers better understand their uses and ingredients


‘There’s a huge education piece to be had around growing media’


Bord na Móna UKhead of commercial Steve Harper discusses the company’s new Growing Media Academy and its efforts to grow retailer knowledge


W


hile tradeshow Glee has historically always been the place to launch new products to the


industry, it also provides opportunities for brands and retailers to discuss new ideas, initiatives and future collaborations. At this year’s show, growing media supplier


Bord na Móna took the opportunity to launch its ‘Growing Media Academy’, a new, educational initiative designed to strengthen retailers’ understanding of the Bord na Móna Growise range of products. The company explains that the training


platform is intended to create more informed, knowledgeable and confident sales champions for Bord na Móna Growise within retailers across the UK and Ireland, with multi-channel content and in-centre training to be rolled out in 2018/19. The Growing Media Academy spotlights the


4 | www.gardencentreupdate.com


five core ingredients that go into the Bord na Móna Growise growing media range: coir, green compost, peat, composted bark and wood fibre. As part of a sensory experience at Glee, visitors were invited to handle the organic materials to better understand their natural properties and growing benefits. The company also unveiled its Little Book of


Ingredients, a handbook and training tool for understanding Bord na Móna’s products. Copies were available on the supplier’s stand throughout Glee, as an additional asset for retail staff ahead of the rollout of the initiative. Bord na Móna UK head of commercial Steve


Harper comments: “The Growing Media Academy is an exciting venture for us and we’re delighted to be launching it at Glee, along with our Little Book of Ingredients. Our brand is trusted for producing high quality growing media products, and we want to


ensure that all our customers, their staff and those that buy our products are fully understanding of what goes into them, as well as our environmental responsibilities and brand heritage.” The company hopes that the improved


understanding of retailers, and ultimately consumers, will demonstrate the importance of growing media, while explaining how best to use different products. Steve continues: “We launched the academy as


a training tool both for retailers and consumers, with the hope to demystify some of the misconceptions around raw materials’ properties that can often seem complicated or confusing. “Our ambition is to build on this educational


initiative over the next 18 months to provide informative, multi-channel content for all keen horticulturalists – from the industry professionals through to the novice gardener.”


GCU October 2018


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