Our goal is not to drive innovation simply because we can. Rather, we strive to make lawn and garden care easier and more enjoyable for the tens of millions of consumers who have used our products over the years. There is no doubt we are succeeding.

Innovation at ScottsMiracle-Gro starts with our unique understanding of the consumer and the importance that lawn and garden activity plays in their lives. By using this knowledge, we are developing new products that allow us to continually strengthen our relationship with the consumer and drive our business higher. In the past three years, for example, new products have accounted for more than $150 million in sales and a substantial percentage of our growth in the core North American consumer business.

The most recent example came just last year when Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed® became our most successful new product launch ever with sales of nearly $40 million. The goal and design of the product was simple – to provide gardeners with an easy-to-use way to feed and water their plants simultaneously. LiquaFeed® not only succeeded, but reinvigorated the plant food category, resulting in an 11 percent increase in consumer purchases of plant food for the full year. Household penetration of LiquaFeed® remains in the single digits, however, giving us confidence that it will continue to drive growth in the plant food category for several years.

LiquaFeed® was just one of the products that helped the North America segment report 15 percent sales growth for the year – 8 percent excluding acquisitions – and operating income improvement of 11 percent. Despite macroeconomic issues like higher gasoline prices and interest rates, which cast doubt on the ‘health’ of the consumer during the peak of our season, consumer purchases across this business increased by 10 percent, a metric that has improved by at least 7 percent each year since 2001.