My Online Gardening Store Hit 27K Customers [India]

Vinayak Garg

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Published: April 14th, 2022

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Vinayak Garg

Founder, Lazy Gardener

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Lazy Gardener

lazygardener.in

from Delhi, India

started June 2019

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I’m the founder of Lazy Gardener, a company and community that has inspired thousands of Indians and people around the world to take up home gardening. Our mission is to make urban gardening simple.

People are busier than ever, and we often overlook the joys of the natural world.

I saw this in my own family. My fondest memories are of gardening, but as an adult, I became too “busy” to the garden. As my parents grew older, it became harder for them to take care of their plants. The family tradition was in danger of being lost, so when my niece was born, my sister and I decided to pass the tradition of gardening on to her.

Lazy Gardener makes it easy for older generations to continue gardening, for professionals living in smaller spaces to care for plants, and for younger generations to discover the wonders of plant parenthood. Our goal is to create 1 million new gardeners by 2021. We believe gardening is an easy first step toward practicing mindfulness and protecting the environment.

I’m best known for starting ZestMD and Lazy Gardener. My crowning achievement is putting myself and others in touch with the most important activity that’s been there all along: gardening. Technology platforms have made it possible for people to grow communities that couldn’t have otherwise existed (like online gardening communities!), but they have also created an environment that can sometimes make it easier for us to be more antagonistic towards one another. Technology can also become addictive if we are not mindful of it. Gardening is a proven way to grow communities and encourage kindness, mindfulness, awareness, and patience. Seeing people become more empathic and closer to nature has been the most rewarding experience of my life.

What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?

Born into a family of avid gardeners, Vinayak has childhood memories of khaad and blooming marigold flowers. As he grew, he realized that gardening in the busyness of daily life wasn’t easy for most people.

Three years ago, when my niece was born, I visited my sister to meet the newest member of our family, and we got to talk about our childhood memories. One of the things that I cherished as a child was going out into nature every weekend, where we would garden and play in the water and things like that. The memories made me a little sad because we started thinking that this child was probably not going to enjoy gardening as we did. My sister was short on time and didn’t garden anymore, and urban environments don’t usually have the kind of space that you do out in nature. On my niece’s birthday, I gave her a gardening kit, and we now make memories in the garden together, much like my parents did with me and my siblings.

For good plant growth, light, water, and nutrition are mandatory, and if he could provide these things easily, it could make gardening a breeze even for a lazy gardener!

So, I decided to tap into the growing urban gardening trend by solving all plant parents’ issues: providing nutrition to their plants. After two years of research and brainstorming, I developed and launched plant food sticks with inputs from various online gardening groups and started Lazy Gardener.

Despite the pandemic, Lazy Gardener managed to grow 4x during FY21 and is looking at a 100% year-on-year growth.

Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.

Vinayak, an IIT graduate started small out of a passion for gardening. Today, it is helping thousands of Indians turn into efficient home gardeners with its innovative products. Born into a family full of avid gardeners, Vinayak cherished memories of gardening as a kid.

A garden can be in a backyard or a plot of land, but it can also be on a balcony or in an apartment scattered amongst a series of pots and walls.

He shares how with his parents aging and him being caught up with daily hustles, his gardens seemed to miss the care and nurturing. The idea thus was born to provide a simple solution for his parents. After thorough experimentation lasting approximately two years, Vinayak launched ‘The Plant Food Sticks’, the first product for LazyGardener in June 2019.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?

In one year, LazyGardener has gone from 0 to over 27,000 customers across India. “The climate plays a big role in what people are buying from us,” informs Vinayak. He further explains, “We see people in the hilly region buying the BloomStix from us since the climate there is ideal for flowering plants. From October to March, people in Delhi and northern regions buy more of BloomStix than GreenStix since it’s the flowering time in the North.”

While Covid-19 may have impacted several industries drastically, it has created a green patch for LazyGardener. With increasing work pressure and the lack of social life, people have been looking for ways to divert their minds from the negative news.

Vinayak says, “People are turning to garden as a soothing, family and kid-friendly hobby that also helps ease the concern over food security, as sometimes getting access to basic vegetables was difficult. Gardening could be a rare but positive trend to emerge from this pandemic, but hopefully, people will eat better and grow more.”

Getting the basics of Gardening right

Gardening is often touted as a stress reliever, however, it can be stressful when the plant does not grow as you may want. Lazy Gardener’s Plant Food Sticks is the solution to this concern. It is an innovative approach to feeding plants where the correct nutrition, using natural minerals, is packed as a stick.

This takes away the guesswork and the mess of ensuring that the plants have the right nutrition. Packed as a stick, when inserted in pots feeds the plant, gradually, over two months. A hassle-free solution for both amateur and experienced urban gardeners.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

While LazyGardener has created a good customer base in India that is fast-growing, Vinayak is looking to expand his reach in at least 6 more countries. What’s better is that the company has 10 new innovative products for the gardening industry in the pipeline. “We aim to make LazyGardener a one-stop company for everything gardening.”

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

Leading an online community of over 177K followers has been a unique experience for me because I don’t consider myself an influencer. I take great joy in seeing people respond to and learn from the content that I share on social media. What makes this community unique compared to other online communities is that I don’t want people to spend all their time looking at Instagram. Rather, I hope that what they see on my feed inspires them to step away from their phones, get their hands dirty, and get closer to nature.

I think focusing on indoor/urban gardening is groundbreaking, especially now, because many people are stuck inside and don’t necessarily feel like they can garden with limited space. I want people to rethink what a garden is and looks like. A garden can be in a backyard or a plot of land, but it can also be on a balcony or in an apartment scattered amongst a series of pots and walls. You can grow a garden anywhere if you have the patience, imagination, and know-how.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

Shopify, Facebook, Instagram, and marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart and Pepperfry to name a few.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?

You have to be patient. “Overnight success” is a huge joke. Everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, but very few people have the patience and stamina to make it a reality.

Where can we go to learn more?

If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!

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