“NOW, THE BIGGEST
COMPETITORS IN THE
INDUSTRY WERE HOUSED
UNDER THE SAME COMPANY
AND THE CIRCLE WAS CLOSED,
SOMEWHAT AKIN TO APPLE
AND GOOGLE JOINING FORCES.”
THE STORY of Botanicare is a story of one of the titans of
the hydroponics industry. The chances are very good that any
cultivator you have ever heard of is using one of its products. In
fact, the chances are very good that one of Botanicare’s products
is an essential part of their grow operation. But where did the
Botanicare story start? How did it get to where it is today?
The beginnings of the Botanicare brand can be found about
twenty-six years ago in a small hydroponics retail store in the
Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona. Trey Bradley and his
partner, Kayla Sharp, sold hydroponics products to cultivators and
others in the industry. During this time, Trey was experimenting
with new and unique product blends, including compost teas.
This period was a time when hydroponics was a burgeoning
industry. Not many people were using compost teas for their
hydroponics; compost teas were primarily being sold to organic
growers. Mineral salts were the name of the game back then for
the hydroponics industry.
At the time, General Hydroponics was the big company in the
industry, selling a product called Four Series that was widely used
by cultivators. Four Series was a mineral-salt, liquid-concentrate-
based nutrient that was used as an input during the grow process.
It would get cultivators the high-yield product that they desired,
but not always lead to the best flavors and aromas in the final
product. Trey and Kayla began to sell their compost teas as a
supplement to individuals who were already using the Four Series,
and they quickly found that the product improved the taste and
smell of the yields. The compost tea product took off, originally
under the name PureBlend Original and now called PureBlend P.
The two hired a local company to produce it in bulk as the demand
began to increase.
Soon, the American Aggrotech Company was formed, with
Botanicare as the brand name under it that housed the PureBlend
Original product. During this same period, Trey was noticing one
29
of the largest problems with the blends. Calcium (Ca), iron
(Fe), and magnesium (Mg) could become a deficiency with
liquid concentrate fertilizers because they were either too
heavy to remain in solution or the quantities required simply
couldn’t be handled in liquid form. From that, CalMag was born
as a calcium and magnesium supplement. It is now the largest
selling product in the cannabis industry. Soon, CalMag Plus was
created, adding iron to the mix and becoming an essential part
of many cultivation operations.
The product was developed to go with Four Series, since
General Hydroponics had already captured 80%–90% of the
market at the time. In October 2016, Botanicare was bought
by Hawthorne Gardening, a wholly owned subsidiary of Scotts
Miracle Gro. Coincidentally, Scotts had purchased General
Hydroponics a few years before. Now, the biggest competitors
in the industry were housed under t he same company and the
circle was closed, somewhat akin to Apple and Google joining
forces.
Staying On Top
So how does Botanicare stay on top of its game? What does
it recommend as a list of best practices? Doug Marvin has been
cultivating since 1996 and has been working on the ground
level for years with the Botanicare brand. He has a number of
suggestions for maintaining quality products and staying on
top:
• Cannabis is a very sensitive plant, and cultivators quickly
notice when something is off. It could be a supplement
mismanagement situation or a number of other things.
Staying close to cultivators allows Botanicare to better
maintain quality control.
• Learn to dial in the basics, figure out what might be off,
and then go from there to fix them.
• Quality control is essential to success, especially in the
hydroponics industry.
• Running a tight ship is a key to growth, from a brand
standpoint and with respect to transitioning to a larger
company culture after being acquired.
• R&D should be constant and should be an emphasis.
Trey and Botanicare had around 40–60 products being
researched at any given time.
• “Never launch a new product unless it’s better than the
existing product in that niche—from quality, ease-of-
use, and cost standpoints.”
So there it is. Simple steps to grow your business and stay
on top of the game. For more information on Botanicare, you
can visit hawthorne-gardening.com or botanicare.com. You
can also reach out to Doug Marvin directly at douglas.marvin@
hawthorne-gardening.com.