Picture this. You’ve just purchased half a dozen new indoor plants for your home. You take them home, put them in perfectly chosen pots, and carefully place them around your home. That night you sit back and say “how good does that look?”
Fast forward a few months, and some of the plants are looking a little bit average and you start to wonder why you can’t ever keep your plants alive.
Guess what? It’s a pretty common story. Enter Willow. Another startup founded in the BetterLabs Venture Studio that’s about to become a household name. Willow helps you take the guesswork out of keeping your plants alive with its Bluetooth sensors that ensure your plant gets the perfect amount of love, coupled with an app that brings the data from the sensors into your pocket, and helps you identify why your plants aren’t thriving.
Willow had a strong 23/24 financial year with the successful launch of two products, their product being shipped to 28 countries, and more than 15,000 new app users. That’s a solid year by any startup’s metrics. This week, they announced a deal that will likely mean that the next 12 months dwarf last financial year by some margin. Australia’s most trusted brand and home of the weekend sausage sizzle — Bunnings — will be stocking Willow online and in the future, in-store.
Clear alignment on value proposition
Startup folks often talk about product-market fit, hockey-stick growth, and knowing your value proposition to a point where they’ve become buzzwords that are often met with an eye-roll or two.
However, sometimes those buzzwords actually have strong meaning. When Willow started conversations with Bunnings back in March, it was clear to Bunnings from the get-go that there was a strong value proposition for their customers. On average, 72 million household plants are killed by Australians every year. Yep, that’s a lot of plants, a significant customer pain point, and a gigantic potential market size.
Willow isn’t a one-size-fits-all model, either. The sensor is programmed to the plant type so it can help you make sure it’s getting the right amount of water, light, and care.
Co-founder James Shamim told Startup News, “The Bunnings team immediately saw the value in what we do. They’re as customer-centric as we are, and want plant lovers to find joy in caring for the plants they take home from their nurseries. It’s a user-friendly solution for their customer to revive their plant instead of rebuying a replacement.”
“A relationship between Bunnings Warehouse and Willow was a natural fit. Our partnership enriches the Bunnings shopping experience for the indoor gardening enthusiast by offering a new, unique tool for plant care: the Willow Sensor.”
A strong trust signal for a small business
Deals like this are always a dream situation for startups and small businesses and provide a big signal of trust to both consumers and other potential channel partners.
Shamim added, “Working with Bunnings is a game-changer for our small business. Bunnings is Australia’s most trusted brand, and their decision to feature our product is a powerful endorsement. This partnership will significantly increase our visibility and reach with consumers, boost our brand recognition and validate the quality and reliability of our product. For our team, it’s a very proud moment and a major milestone in our growth.”
However, now the deal is done and the product has been stocked online, the hard work begins. How do you educate consumers at scale and encourage them to order a Willow when they buy their plant, fertilizer, or new pot next time they’re at Bunnings?
Team Willow has a solid plan to make this happen and maximise the chances that their partnership with Bunnings is a fruitful one for both parties for many years to come. A big part of that strategy revolves around storytelling and content marketing. We’re looking forward to seeing how that marketing strategy rolls out.
Learning through customer feedback
If there was a Startup 101 most important lesson to be learnt, it’s the importance of learning through customer feedback. This is something the team at Willow have embraced and since their launch, they’ve learnt a lot about how their consumers use their product. This has helped them ensure they’re building the right things for their customers.
“We’ve learned a lot about our customers since launch: we know that some hardware users are happy with their plant score and the level of information they get with the app already, while others are keen for more features. We incorporated that feedback into Willow Grow and tested a beta version with iOS and Android user groups before launch. A user doesn’t need to have a Sensor to use our app or opt in to Willow Grow so there’s something for everyone. There’s been great uptake of Willow Grow already and we’ll continue to nurture and build on that,” said co-founder Jared Carlin.
