Ball Horticultural Co. president and CEO Anna Ball talks about changes occurring in her 100-year-old company and the floriculture industry.

Q. In the time that you have worked at Ball Horticultural Co., what would you consider to be the five biggest events/changes that have occurred to the company?

A. 1. Plugs. They forced improvements in seed quality and a lot of other things. 2. The rise of vegetative plant material with all of the new innovative types of plants that the consumer had never seen. 3. Marketing and branding. 4. The increase in power of the mass marketers. 5. From a company perspective, our sale of Peto Seed in 1995, which left us with a 100-percent ornamental focus, was a big change for us.

Q. What do you think is the biggest obstacle to selling more flowers in the United States?

A. The way plants look at retail. We've come a long way, but still plants don't have the consistent quality and aren't merchandised the way produce departments are, for example. I still see a lot of old half-dead flats or containers being watered or moved around or marked down. You never see that in a produce department. I can't resist gorgeous produce -- I buy it even if I know I probably won't eat it. We need plants displayed that way.

Q. Would you like to see a national marketing program developed by the floriculture industry? Do you think that a national marketing program would be more difficult to develop now that companies have started national plant brand programs like Ball's Simply Beautiful?

A. Of course I'd love to see a national marketing program, but the timing has to be right; it obviously hasn't been in the past. For now we are putting a lot of support into America In Bloom and Communities In Bloom in Canada as well as similar promotions in England and France which we think have great potential.

It astounds me that companies can make their living from an industry and not support it. Every company should be supporting America In Bloom or Communities In Bloom because they benefit every segment of the industry. People think "color" and "flowers." They don't think in segments like we do.

I don't think Simply Beautiful or any of the other brands make it more difficult to implement a national marketing program. We are not supporting America In Bloom any less, for example, because we have Simply Beautiful.

Q. Do you see Ball eventually cross-branding the Simply Beautiful name on other garden-related products such as potting soil, fertilizer, garden tools, etc.?

A. Actually we've never talked of extending the Simply Beautiful brand to other categories. That's not something we'd do.

Q. Have you been satisfied with the progress that has been made in establishing Ball's Simply Beautiful brand?

A. Just like my dad, I'm chronically dissatisfied. It takes an incredibly long time and lots of money to establish a name. Our most successful brand is Wave, which is 10 years old. There is consumer recognition for Wave and we have been able to extend the brand.

Simply Beautiful is three years old and has a lot more competition than Wave. The biggest success of the brand has been increased sales for the products in the brand. The biggest disappointment has been the relatively few integrated displays we have been able to get at retail. The trend is good but too slow. Beginning this spring, we will be concentrating on the independent garden centers.

Q. Do you expect that the floriculture industry will continue to mirror the agricultural industry with fewer producers, suppliers and retailers?

A. For the near and medium term, we will still need local production. Many consumers will always want to shop in local garden centers; you need more help with our product than you do with produce. There will most likely be some consolidation but not as much as agriculture. The big consolidation everyone was predicting, including me, years ago never happened. Things don't change as quickly in industries as you think. The ones that do have huge rapid change are the ones that get the press so rapid change seems more prevalent than it really is.

Q. Do you think it has become more difficult for new growers to get started in this industry?

A. We add new customers almost daily, and many of them are new growers. But now to succeed in the industry you have to be a good marketer as well as a good producer. There are plenty of niches out there if you have the imagination to find them.

Q. Do you think the floriculture industry will ever receive the recognition that is afforded the agriculture industry by government officials and regulators?

A. Do we really want the recognition and the clout? It's better to be under the government radar. The less government the better for me. The recognition we have received lately has led to the pot labeling standards, which we would be better off without.

The government recognition I like is the kind that Mayor Daley has given the industry with his emphasis in Chicago of greening the city. He recognizes the fact that plants and flowers reduce crime, increase tourism and make residents proud of their city.

Q. Ball has begun to offer biodegradable Napac NaturePots. Will the company seek to increase its offerings in these types of environmentally compatible products?

A. We want to lead the trend toward eco-friendly horticulture, and we are going to offer more environmentally compatible products. We talked to a number of growers, retailers and end users over the last couple of years about using gardening products that are more healthful and beneficial to the environment. Everyone likes the concept but most struggle to relate to these concepts in a more practical way.

Some growers look at this as organic versus conventional production and worry about increased cost of production. Some end users are concerned about paying higher prices for inferior products. We are making efforts to seek out environmentally friendly products that are cost-effective and make them available to commercial growers.

Q. Ball is also involved in breeding new varieties through genetic modification/engineering. Do you think this conflicts in any way with the company's efforts at trying to be an environmental steward?

A. I think they go together. If you care about the environment you should be in favor of GMO products. Most grocery products on the shelf contain GMO corn or soybeans, most of all the cotton underwear, shirts and pants you wear are made with GMO cotton. If we want to help provide food for developing countries, we better believe in GMOs; they help reduce the need for chemicals.

There is no conflict. Genetic engineering allows you to better control the traits you are breeding for because there is less randomness than with traditional breeding. I'm all for GMO plants. In ornamentals, though, it's tough to do economically.

We acquired the rights to use the gene gun for use in ornamental species 10 years ago. We have not been able to successfully create products that add value to the grower, retailer and consumer with this tool. On the other hand our advanced research unit (Ball Helix), without using any gene transformation, has been able to create other tools for our breeders to allow for the development of new and exciting products like the orange and yellow Fusion impatiens.

Q. During a 2004 conference you made a statement that the floriculture industry needs to start thinking about growing in a more sustainable way. Could you please explain what you mean by this?

A. We still are struggling with what to call this trend. Organic, sustainable -- two ambiguous words. Marc Cathey suggested, "Smart growing or smart gardening." We want to convince the industry that this trend is not just for tree huggers. Why can't conservatives be conservationists? I've never understood why not.

We have production locations in several countries and we have come a long way with reducing chemical use and being smarter. You have to begin at home.

Q. You have said that the floriculture industry is disconnected from the consumer. Can you please explain this statement.

A. We have an "outside" member on our board of directors. He's in his 50s, very bright, has lots of disposable income and he's retired, looking for hobbies. He built a new house with his wife. He called me one day, very frustrated. He said he wanted a nice big garden and had been trying for weeks to figure out what to do. He had tried the Internet, visited local garden centers, bought lots of books and magazines and talked to people. He said he was completely confused and could I please send [Ball trials manager] Jim Nau to his house to just tell him what to do?

We make it so difficult, especially for new gardeners like this board member. We see everything from an industry perspective not from a consumer perspective. We price products by the container, disregarding what's in it (4-inch or gallon, etc.). We call things by the way they are propagated (vegetative geraniums). Who cares how they are propagated? We call things by complicated ugly names (think about it -- osteospermum, exacum, argyranthemum, alstroemeria -- come on!). And we still sell products in ugly black and green plastic pots.

We should be more like the cosmetic industry. We "sell hope," as Estee Lauder said. Packaging and presentation should be far more important. We need to appeal to emotions, not to logic. We still have a long way to go.

Q. The USDA Floriculture Crop Summary figures for 2003 showed the floriculture industry is on a downward sales trend. Do you see this as the start of a continuing trend?

A. I certainly hope it's not the start of a trend. The numbers do look bad. It's up to us to reverse the trend.

We need more excitement at retail, more promotions like America In Bloom, Plants At Work and Flowers, Alive with Possibilities. We need to beautify our packaging. We need to make it simple and easy for new gardeners. We need to get people away from television and video games and back outside. There's a lot to do and the challenges aren't easy.

A customer I visited in Texas last week said, "We run to the hard stuff." I love that phrase. If it's easy, anyone can do it and the payback isn't big. If the industry can reverse the trend, the payback is big.

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© 2004 Branch-Smith Publishing