How do flower and vegetable awards influence industry growth?
People watch movies, choose restaurants and make other decisions based on criteria that can be influenced by the idea of awards being a signal of trust, reliability and social proof. Awards can encourage behaviors for consumers, inspire trust in business and products as well as set the standard for future products. The premise of trust in an award is simple — the people behind it are also trustworthy, and their methodology for choosing winners is fair, current and aligns with their audience’s goals.
Awards can be influenced by many things like trends, celebrity personalities and world events. People look to reputable organizations to research, judge and award based on trusted criteria.
Consumers are believers in word of mouth, trusted experts and proven industry standards for quality. This is very true for flower and vegetable varieties; many experts will be meeting this month at the American Seed Trade Association’s (ASTA) Flower and Vegetable Show. Amongst the networking and speakers, awards will be handed out.
Recent surveys done by Axiom Marketing show that a significant percentage of consumers, especially Gen Z and Gen Y, will be maintaining or increasing their resources allocated to vegetable and flower gardening.
“Those interested in growing from seeds have increased, with the demographic showing strength amongst younger male gardeners,” notes Mike Reiber, CEO of Axiom Marketing.
During the pandemic, people were staying home and often finding time for new hobbies like gardening. The benefits to physical and mental health as well as pride in growing gorgeous flowers and tasty vegetables are some motivating factors. The garden joy of the past couple of years has stabilized but is still going strong with almost all surveyed with many increasing their garden time. And, though the pandemic caused supply chain issues through a seed boom with an increased amount of hobby gardeners, those persistent and frustrating supply chain challenges became opportunities for breeders, giving them space to offer alternatives to popular seeds which were unavailable.
“Out of stock? That’s okay, why don’t you try something new?” was the response of the managing partner at America Meadows, Mike Lizotte. “It gives people an opportunity to try something new and explore new varieties.”
A lifetime gardener who specializes in wildflowers, and an avid learner himself, Lizotte has noticed some interesting trends in the past couple of years. He is hearing from more customers who are growing for specific purposes whether it is due to their climate, growing zone, environmental concerns such as drought, or a desire to support wild populations of birds and pollinators. He has found consumers are more in tune with their environment, are following the news, and want to do good things for their health and their world.
“Awards are an important part of that as it encourages consumers to confidently try new things which are industry tested and proven. With 20 million new gardeners in the U.S. that’s a lot of people looking to the trust imparted in award-winning seeds and plants,” explains Lizotte.
The industry also benefits from large shows like ASTA because they get a chance to network, learn about trends from other regions, meet breeders, and discuss new solutions to inventory, and climate while finding new ways to engage and inform home gardeners.
Lizotte has many regional-specific meadow blends which he has found resonates with gardeners looking to incorporate native species into their plans knowing they also will fit better with their climate, geography and growing goals.
“People find many benefits in gardening and the resurgence of individuals discovering [or rediscovering] gardening is a trend that continues to grow,” says Lizotte, “We find that so exciting!”
Since 1932, All-America Selections has been offering awards to trial-based varieties submitted from around the world. With over 20 countries submitting seeds and plants for trials, and over 80 trial sites, this non-profit takes its work seriously.
Recognizing that trial varieties, submitted by breeders, are driven by industry and consumer demand they strive to offer the best in all areas from taste, look, yield, germination, how easy they are to grow, and most critically they have to be new.
New and unique varieties are grown in seven different trials, alongside comparison varieties, and rated on a five-point scale, with five being the highest ranking. Trial judges are experts in their areas and currently, there are 92 judges working on seven trials which have at least 24 sites per trial.
An award-winning variety must meet specific criteria to be considered a contender. It must follow the traits specified by the breeder, score higher than the varieties in the comparison trial, and meet the criteria of their type.
Diane Blazek, the Executive Director at All-America Selections (AAS), is excited about the coming year and the results of the current trials.
“Consumers have come to trust the All-America Selections awards knowing they represent the best of the best for color, taste, and how easy the variety is to grow,” says Blazek, “That trust is based on over 90 years of experience with trials, judging and selecting varieties that are both unique and perform better than the comparisons in trials.”
There are three AAS Award types: National, Regional and the elusive Gold Medal, reserved for breeding breakthroughs. The rigorous trials and judging ensure that when a variety is declared a winner, it’s truly earned it. Winning breeders can promote their AAS Winner as long as the variety is available for sale.
From ornamentals (from cuttings or seed) and edibles (fruits and vegetables from seed) there are seven types of trials currently going across the United States and Canada.
AAS takes consumer trends seriously and supports several survey-driven reports each year. This year is the first year Axiom Marketing has done a vegetable-specific survey and the results were released in January 2023.
“Whether it’s containers or in-ground, the Gen Z and Gen Y demographics are looking to have more interesting and diverse garden spaces. Gen X and the Boomers tend towards more traditional gardens but may dabble in new varieties looking for easy growing, good taste and germination as well as higher yields,” says Reiber, who has done a number of surveys for AAS.
“Early highlights include the increase of younger gardeners who prefer to grow from seed to the surprising sources of information gardeners learn from. Unlike flower and ornamental gardeners, vegetable gardeners look to their retailers (local garden centers) for their information and to learn about new varieties, and for troubleshooting. Both groups also gravitate to social media, especially YouTube, to learn about tricks, tips and new ways to make their gardens grow,” explains Reiber.
When asked why they choose to grow vegetables from seed, most responded that they enjoy the process, it helps save money, there’s better variety selection in seeds and it is traditional to grow vegetables from seed.
There is a significant number of people who responded who will continue to garden in 2023, some even looking to expand their gardens. The reasons vary from satisfaction found in the garden, liking the taste of their own produce, and the time outside (and exercise) in keeping up the garden.
“Breeders using social media and feedback from retailers can capture early interest and trends from consumers, and they can use awards to provide proven options for gardeners to try,” explains Lizotte.
The trust level in award-winning seeds and plants is high among consumers. This sets a high bar for both breeders and organizations to run trials and award varieties — they are growing trust as much as they are growing their industry reach.
