Plantgem is looking to revitalise the traditionally stuffy gardening and horticulture retail sector with a refreshing approach to categorisation and navigation of the category, targeting Gen Z and Millennials obsessed with all things biophilic.
The etailer’s take on the gardening category features stylish imagery, a humorous tone of voice and a user-friendly DTC e-commerce platform.
The brand appeals to customers’ emotions and aesthetic preferences in a playful way, branching out from conventional language and messaging around plants. The ecommerce navigation is unique too: Plantgem’s platform offers the ability to shop by generation (Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X, Boomer) or zodiac sign – categories that are designed to aid serendipitous discovery and provide new avenues for inspiration.
Alongside its unconventional approach to categories, the site also provides a host of informative resources for growers, weaving in relevant information about adjacent categories such as craft, with its section on plants that can be used for dyeing. This section is helpfully divided by colour to aid customers search for the plant and colour that best suits their garden and taste.
Interestingly, the founders describe themselves as ‘casual gardeners and fashion hounds’ and it shows. The brand presents its products in an innovative way; instead of showing a picture of a plant, Plantgem will show users the end flowers as a bouquet against a coloured background, so the result is more akin to a fashion retailer, for example.
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