Launching Treasure Gardening

Take a deep breath and cross fingers. The next six months will determine whether the decision to launch a new sustainable venture called Treasure Gardening is fool-hardy or inspired. Can we break into the market with a disruptive new concept seeking to celebrate the wonders of waste creating new products that drive circular solutions? We have limited initial investment and a short-time frame to prove viability. It is high risk, but by following these five steps we have hopefully given ourselves a fighting chance.

1. A values driven business

We are determined to prove that you can build a profitable business by creating highly effective and affordable products from waste materials. This is our core purpose and offers a different starting point to most other horticultural companies.

We realise that some people are sceptical about the use of waste and are determined to dispel this myth by extensive testing before taking products to market. We aim to be open about the materials we use and why they have been chosen.

We know that using waste materials requires gardeners to slightly change their routines. We will offer this guidance alongside our products as well as offering hacks and tips enabling them to create their own circular solutions.

We want to create a broader impact by helping community gardens get the maximum value from materials and unused land. Our intention is to donate some of our profits to these organisations which will only be achievable if we can create a financially viable business.

Our hope is that these values will encourage people to consider buying our products and supporting the business.

2. Building on proven expertise

We are not starting from scratch but are building upon proven expertise. Simon Blackhurst has been described as the UK’s ‘Compost Connoisseur’ and brings an unprecedented amount of expertise and experience to the table having run one of the UK’s largest compost sites. The ‘Wonderfuel’ mix he has created is based upon years of knowledge, strong connections within the industry and a passion to create a truly effective product.

Trewin is supporting Simon, building on his experience of creating three award winning sustainable ventures which have seen him win a Business Green ‘Lifetime Achievement’ Award and be recognised as a Global Leader of the Year by the Global Good Awards.

The partnership brings together great technical expertise and strong sustainability credentials which will drive the development of Treasure Gardening.

3. Brand and design

We have partnered with a fantastic agency called Chorus and Bridge to define our brand and messaging. Their analysis of the market, combined with independent polling, has enabled us to build the Treasure Gardening brand, highlighting why we are distinctive and developing the key messages that we are seeking to communicate. This insight enabled us to work with an award-winning designer to create the packaging and marketing assets.  

The market into which we are seeking to break has remained unchanged for many years with most of our competitors offering products which look similar with little innovation or distinctiveness. Our first product, ‘Wonderfuel’ is different. We are offering two products one for helping to grow plants from seeds and the second for more established plants. Being disruptive is risky, but we believe it will appeal to gardeners looking for effective sustainable options.

4. Collaboration

A collaborative approach is essential to achieve the scale of change we wish to achieve. We are partnering with a family run business in Somerset called Durstons. The company shares our ambition to transition away from peat and has invested heavily in the infrastructure required to transition to more sustainable and effective products. They will be shifting production lines to produce Wonderfuel and we will be utilising their manufacturing, distribution and sales team. It gives us the capacity and infrastructure we require and is a great example of a just transition in action.

We are determined to show people that wonderful products can be created from waste. Our launch partner is Toast Brewing who make amazing beer from surplus bread, helping fight food waste. The launch of Wonderfuel will give people a chance to win a year of free beer so that they can sit back and enjoy the rewards of their gardening efforts.

Our research has revealed that gardeners need better advice on how to grow in peat-free compost. We have led a collaboration of organisations to develop guidance that will help everybody grow more sustainably. This supports our ambition to deliver change across the whole sector.

5. Transparency

We acknowledge that as a new risk-taking venture, we will get things wrong. We know that we must get the balance right between creating products that work and are affordable with the need to be sustainable. For example, we would like to use more UK-based by-products for Wonderfuel but are not confident that there is enough quality material available to create an effective growing media. We will be constantly seeking better options and will be transparent about what we discover. We hope that this commitment to transparency will build trust with consumers and be invaluable in helping other companies transition to more sustainable approaches.

The next few months will determine whether these five steps are sufficient to enable the business to thrive. If you are supportive of our approach and ambitions and feel you can help, please do get in touch trewin@sizzle.org.uk.