Beyond ladybirds, there are a wide array of natural predators, mostly hidden and going un-noticed in gardens all over the UK. From the vicious looking lacewing larvae which will eat anything which doesn’t run away, to the agile and elegant Aphidius parasitic wasp, and the soil-dwelling beneficial nematodes hunting insect larvae underground. MightyBugs® are all around our gardens.
Whilst British commercial growers have been relying on beneficial insects to grow their crops for decades, they are relatively unused products within the Home & Garden market. For the past ten years as their use has gradually been growing sale of beneficial insects and beneficial nematodes has been limited to online retail. Until now!
Beneficial insects, mites and nematodes have characteristics which make them a challenge to stocking in-store. Logistical challenges of short shelf lives and specific storage requirements have meant selling this range of products has been too complicated, despite being a growing product category. The Andermatt O2O system has been designed to get around these logistical hurdles. It offers retailers potential to stock a complete range of naturally occurring native beneficial predators without the logistical challenges.
What is the Andermatt O2O system?
Our O2O system is an Offline to Online selling system. It allows a MightyBug to be purchased in-store in the form of a Voucher Card for the customer to take home. This voucher has a redemption code on which, when the customer wants the MightyBugs delivered, is redeemed online. The online redemption process requires the customer to only enter the code on their voucher and their delivery address, and we handle the rest.
The system is setup in-store within a Point Of Sale stand. The stand has space to show up to 16 product Display Cards. The stands are completely customisable with our MightyBug and MightyNem range. A store can select 16 products to stock or just the same one product displayed lots of times. The flexible system can be altered throughout the year depending on customer needs, or varied with the season. If you don’t want to choose your custom product range, simply ask for one of our pre-selected starter kits.
How does the MightyBug O2O system work?
Upon ordering a MightyBug O2O system you will be sent everything needed in shelf ready condition for the products to be sold as any other item in your store.
As an example, if a starter kit is ordered.
- A box arrives containing everything needed. The box is unpacked with the display stand placed on a shelf, and the Display Cards positioned on the display. The Voucher Cards are kept safe near the tills.
- A customer chooses which MightyBug they need depending on the problem in their garden they are wanting to manage. They take the Display Card for that product to the till.
- The till swap the Display Card for the Voucher Card (the fronts are identical to help this). The barcode on the Voucher Card is scanned into the till.
- The customer pays for the item and takes the Voucher Card home.
- When wanted, the customer scans the QR code or enters the website address on the Voucher Card and enters the redemption code on the Voucher. They then enter their delivery address.
- Andermatt then send out fresh MightyBugs directly to the customer.
As well as personal use, the MightyBug Voucher system is also ideally suited for gifting. The A6 card vouchers make a nice tangible gardening gift. The redeem in the future, when you need the MightyBug feature makes the vouchers ideal to give as a gift to a garden lover at an occasion during the time of the year when finding a gardening gift is a challenge. The MightyBug display has been designed to accommodate this, and can be used to display gift cards to suggest this to browsing customers. Alternatively additional Display Cards can be placed on shelves around the gift card area of the shop. For this reason, the MightyBug O2O system was shortlisted for Best New Product – Gifts category at Glee 2023.
How do you replenish the O2O system?
When you are running low on Vouchers, you simply order more of the Vouchers for the products you are selling. This gives great flexibility; faster selling lines can be restocked more frequently, slower lines can be phased out. When a season or customer need changes a new line can be added by simply buying a set of Display Cards and Vouchers for the new product.
What are the benefits of working with Andermatt?
Working with Andermatt is a partnership. With a global footprint, Andermatt are leaders in developing and manufacturing products to support more sustainable gardening. We understand that, whilst some customers may be familiar with using beneficial nematodes and insects in their garden, education on how to use these products is key to their success. At Andermatt we have a passionate team who are willing to work with our partners to support their customer engagement, be it in-store display material, visuals for socials or ghost-writing media content.
Isn’t the O2O system sending in-store customers to the Andermatt website?
Yes, the O2O system needs a website to work through and we have set this up to run through www.andermattgarden.co.uk. Don’t worry however, talk to our team about how we are managing this issue.
What other products do Andermatt produce?
At Andermatt we believe in sustainable gardening. The products we produce surround this belief. As well as our predatory insects (MightyBugs) and beneficial nematodes (MightyNems), we also manufacture:
- Rootilizer - beneficial bacteria which help plant roots extract more of the natural nutrition locked up within the soil.
- GroPure – customisable liquid NPK organic and vegan fertilisers made from a plant waste stream.
- NitroBoost – a pure nitrogen (10N) organic and vegan liquid fertiliser, again made from a plant waste stream.
- BioFleece – a 30 gsm or 18 gsm frost fleece. Feels like plastic, looks like plastic, works like plastic, made from plants.
- InsectoNet – fine meshed insect netting. Again, a product customers will be familiar with, only this is made from plant-derived materials not petroleum plastic.
Interested in stocking Andermatt products in your shop?
Please contact us on contact@andermattuk.com.