February 2023 - 12

DUETS
native plants in 2021 and spent
(on average) $178.26 annually
on those plants. The majority of
participants (83%) indicated that
incorporating native plants into their
own gardens and landscapes was
moderately to extremely important.
The key benefits driving native
plant sales were identified as
pollinator friendly, complementing
previous installments, natural habitat
restoration, aesthetics and wildlife
attractiveness. Highlighting these
benefits in point-of-sale promotions
could be a means to encourage
purchasing of native plants.
Peter: Yeah, I have to stop you right
there. To me, " wildlife attractive " is
code for deer damage. I'm reeling
from decades of deer destruction to
my landscape. I know that's not the
only wildlife you're referencing, but
the gardener in me is permanently
traumatized by them.
Alicia: I, too, have deer-related
issues involving neighbors feeding
them. In this study, wildlife was
left more broadly defined and
encompassed birds and wildlife people
enjoy watching in their landscapes,
which includes deer in some
instances, depending on the person.
Peter: My gosh, we must have the
same neighbor, Alicia. Mine fed the
deer for several winters a while ago
and stopped after they overstayed
their welcome and grazed his summer
garden. You mentioned birds; don't
get me started on the wild turkeys.
Alicia: Interestingly, we did ask if
participants perceived native plants
as encouraging or deterring wildlife,
and they viewed native plants as
more encouraging to wildlife than
introduced plants. Consumers would
likely benefit from knowing the
types of wildlife that are attracted
to those species, so they can attract
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FEBRUARY 2023 GPNMAG.COM
their preferred wildlife instead of
inadvertently starting a neighborhood
deer farm.
Additionally, there was a positive
relationship between environmentally
friendly gardening practices (e.g.,
recycling containers, composting,
pollinator-friendly plants, lowerinput
plants, rain barrel use) and
purchasing native plants. The
implication is that offering products
and information that support these
gardening actions may be one
means of encouraging native
plant purchases.
Peter: Global issues including
climate change and agricultural
sustainability are front page stories.
Do trends you report on native plants
correlate with these larger issues? Do
you find that different generations of
consumers view these issues similarly
or differently?
Alicia: Peter, consumers are very
interested in sustainability measures.
This trend is particularly relevant
for younger generations (millennials
and Gen Z). Of particular interest are
production practices that result in
great quality products but are grown
in a way that benefits the environment,
community, society, etc. This really
ties into their concerns about climate
change and the desire to aid the
environment. They are also interested
in getting high-quality products
through convenient channels, such as
e-commerce sales.
Peter: You mentioned work in
the area of controlled environment
agriculture (CEA). Much of my
research is in this arena and I'd like
to understand how consumers are
reacting to this sector compared
to traditional, industrial-scale
agriculture.
Alicia: CEA is very interesting
because people view this as an
opportunity to grow fresh fruits
and vegetables close to the retail
outlet. So potential benefits include
a higher-quality product due to less
transportation, more jobs in the local
community and a means of mitigating
environmental issues related to
production, due to control over
all inputs.
These are perceived benefits
because there is still a lot of work
to be done in this area to identify
the demand for CEA products and
how much product needs to be
sold in order to cover additional
overhead costs. I'm currently
working on a project focusing on
consumers' responses to leafy greens,
microgreens and herbs grown in CEA
to enhance phytonutrient content.
Essentially, can we manipulate the
growing environment to increase
phytonutrients - and then are
consumers interested in these
products? Will they pay more for
them? Does it matter to the customer?
Ultimately, we want a holistic picture
of the business and consumer side of
CEA production of these items.
Peter: Bingo! And that's how our
complementary research worlds
merge. We need to collaborate,
growers and sellers, to figure out
how CEA fits into the global food
production puzzle. Any final thoughts?
Alicia: Thank you for having me,
Peter. I appreciate the opportunity
to share my work with you and
the industry folks reading. Moving
forward, I am hoping to gain
more insights from the industry to
incorporate into my projects and
would greatly appreciate any feedback
related to marketing and consumer
behavior that you all would be willing
to share.
Peter: You're very welcome;
thanks for joining me and keep up
the great work.
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February 2023

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