We built a brand that has disrupted the horticulture / gardening industry – products that are not only more effective but healthier for both farmers and consumers

In one line, what do you do and what is your most significant achievement?

We built a brand that has disrupted the horticulture / gardening industry – products that are not only more effective but healthier for both farmers and consumers.

Who are you and what business did you start?

I am Eric, founder of Plantonic, an insurgent CPG brand that has disrupted the horticulture/gardening world. Our hero product is a 4-in-1 plant-based non-toxic fertilising essence for all plants and greens. We have also developed more products, methods and techniques that harness the power of nature to benefit growers, farmers, hobbyists, etc..cut down / eliminate the use of harmful chemicals and increase output.

What's your backstory?

It all started in 2013 when I travelled to multiple countries as a company representative to sell food ingredients. During this journey, I saw a lot of rural farms and spoke to many farmers. Here is what I discovered existing plant feeds are extremely toxic, which is why farmers have to wear extensive protective gear.

I decided then, that I had to change something about the way plants are grown. Coming from Singapore, which relies heavily on imports for food items, I developed an interest in farming, and related products. With an appreciation of the risk of food shortage in Singapore, I decided to develop a healthier plant product, with the goal of improving the world's health through better eating, from better farming.

Interestingly, I am not a trained chemist, but that actually proved extremely beneficial, as it has enabled me to not adhere to conventional science and being open minded about alternate science and methods - mainly traditional and Ayurvedic medicine principles.

What should be the first steps to take to enter your industry?

When we conceived the idea of creating Plantonic, we wanted 0 additional steps needed in the user experience. Just get it and use it on plants - easy peasy. There were many naysayers when we first started and we were labelled as snake oil or holy water. Fast forward today there are probably another 7-8 similar products in the market singing the same tune! I can't speak for others or say these are the must do first steps for everyone.

For us, it has always been being the first, different and unique. Same goes for all other products we are launching later on. The first steps we took was to create market awareness through branding and marketing. What and how should we communicate our brand and story and how can we be different in our approach to stand out? This is an era where everyone is bombarded by information and content every single moment hence how do we attract attention? We tested different styles and monitored response, activities and online sales figures. Finally we set our brand identity and that's where the next steps will follow. As we are playing the CPG game, margins and brand awareness is utmost important to retailers or distributors. We had to be sure our margins are competitive if not better than market offerings.

How did you spend your First 100 Days of launching your business?

In the early days, we were trying to sell Plantonic to farmers and Agriculture companies. The whole sales process is long and tedious, a lot of testing, questions, lobbying, etc…

We decided to reinvent ourselves towards the end of 2019 and turned it into a household plant care item, targeting end users / consumers with houseplants. The first 100 days of reinventing is about branding, marketing, making cold calls and forming a new team

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

Our product hasn't disappointed, and has served both businesses and customers well.

For businesses, our products clearly promoted plant growth and helped businesses increase yield and reduce OP EX. What usually takes multiple skilled employees to do in 10 steps can be done with non-skilled manpower within 3 steps, with a 10-20% increase in yield.

For customers, we offer an easy plant care product that is easy to use and non toxic, helpling plants grow to their optimal health and glory.

What has taken you from 0 to 100?

I would say we are not at 100 yet as there's still a lot more to be done. I think we've barely scratched the surface until Plantonic becomes a household name worldwide. Think Life force, healing, regeneration and alternative science- this is what we are all about for plants and greens. As technology advances in all areas of life, we know that the world will start to understand that nature has its own “tech” that Ai or technical advancements will never be able to replicate.

What is one underrated thing in your industry that business owners should start doing/using?

We are currently living in very interesting and uncertain times. On one hand there are environmental disasters, food shortages, soil degradation, fertiliser shortages, conflicts, inflation and possibly economical collapse - while on the other we see a rapid emergence of Ai, crypto and tech advancements. How is this connected to the question ? The point I'm trying to make is no matter how good or bad the state of affairs are, if you truly believe in your craft/ creation and that you can be part of the solution to a problem, don't be afraid to cold call and pitch. Cold calling is underrated whereas networking is overrated in my opinion.

What was one failure you had to go through that others in your industry should look out for?

Facing many rejections - this is not industry specific but in general what we are facing very often as a founder / entrepreneur. My personal mantra is we won't fail unless we give up.

Many times when we are offering something new or revolutionary idea/product, there will be resistance to change and acceptance from the market. Timing is paramount but sometimes even big companies get timing wrong, it's only in hindsight that we realise timing was right for us back then. In short, keep going and never give up because we will never really know the actual “right time” when it presents itself.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

For now Google meet, zoom, wetransfer, Instagram, Facebook. Looking into TikTok, twitter, telegram channels and click funnels currently as we ready ourselves for EU and US markets

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

Currently, the main goal is to enter new markets – we are currently working on entering the EU and US markets, and I'm currently in Romania, in talks with vertical farms and Agriculture companies - showing them how we are able to help cut down steps required and also increase output with our products, methods and techniques.

Ultimately, the goal is to improve the world's health through better eating, through better food, through better farming.

Treat Nature with Nature