We were lucky to catch up with Jeff Roberts recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jeff , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Fibonacci Plants came to be from an extensive search for a store name. We had a name chosen for our entity so all the filing could be made not knowing the direction we were ultimately headed. Once we solidified plans to move forward with plants we started to dig deeper. We didn’t want to go the cliche “plant shop” route, it’s often the go to but makes having brand identity streamlined a bit more difficult if there are a number of stores similarly named in other areas you’re still competing with social handles, web domains etc. There was a growing list of more unique names to use with a nod to plants but something fresh, something never seen. From looking at the word “plant” in various languages and so on. Still not finding that perfect match, the web domains or social handles not matching or the name too far out to be recognizable the search moved onward. One day I was browsing web searches of things relatable to plants one there is was, shimmering in gold, the Fibonacci sequence and how it’s found in so many forms or plants (and all of nature really).

Now that we have the name, how to develop that brand identity. The more I kept digging, the more it just made sense. The vision grew, my understanding of the mathematics and the history the more it matched a larger vision.

The sequence itself, a logarithmic growth met the overall brand image and leaving room to expand as we grew the store, the brand, the offerings, etc. the logos had at least twenty different iterations before we even had a space to open, finally changing literally two days before our opening just in time for a T-shirt to be made. Not much has changed with the overall logo itself, we do find ourselves using the word mark more often than the whole logo but it’s simple, it communicates the brand even if someone isn’t aware of the Fibonacci sequence or its connection to plants.

Now that we’ve been open a bit over a year it has lived up to its name and vision. From the conversation starts with customers on “why Fibonacci?” which is typically from someone in finance for instance that knows about the Fibonacci sequence but not its connections to plants. A customer came in one day and just stunned at the name shared he was working on a book with some professors who were writing a book about the Fibonacci sequence and its connections to plants. He was doing the photography work for the book and shared his Instagram of his work which was stunning. We kept in touch and discussed adding some prints in the shop for sale and we went with it, now these amazing photographs adorn our walls, many showing the spirals and growth patterns that match the Fibonacci sequence.

We’ve heard 1000 different ways people try pronouncing it, we will using it as a lesson with a brief history, how it works, the connection, etc. The best part is hearing customers refer to us as simply “Fibonacci” it’s like the Kleenex/Coke/Ubering/Googling when it comes to how brand names evolve and become synonymous with the business.

Jeff , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Growing up with family members having gardens, houseplants and outdoor landscaping it was a constant throughout my childhood. Something that kept with me throughout college and beyond. Always having a plant or two even in my dorm room or as a housewarming for when I moved from apartment to apartment I always had a plant or two, this kept growing and growing and started getting real crazy with them as I had more adult money, an office to also have plants etc.

While plants were always a passion, my creative streak was something that has lived with me all of my life. While plants have a bit more of a science piece, the creativity behind the presentation is where my talents can really shine. Now having a plant shop, the ability to pair a plant with a particular planter, accessories and care plan, I can have customer leave confident to keeping a beautiful potted plant living and healthy.

The issue we see in the industry is plant care is given in a black and white or right or wrong way while it’s more of a spectrum and many pieces are variable dependent on the local environment. Each home is different and even rooms in the same home can be different with light, humidity etc. That being said the most common issue we find is people doing too much for the plant which ultimately kills them due to over caring. Too much water (this one looks thirsty, let’s water all of them.) or “plants need sunlight, I’ll put it in the window” which ultimately scorches the leaves and it dies off.
Explain this to customers along with a care plan that is much more flexible and designed to accommodate the spectrum outlook for not over caring for them or learning their care style and matching plants to their lifestyle instead of just finding what they like the looks of only.

Pairing the right plant to someone’s care ability and commitment is key. While is a customer just wants to buy a plant and I explain the care yet they say the opposite, I’ll sell it to them regardless however this is where my salesman hat gets tossed and I try to talk them out of purchasing something I know isn’t right for them. I’ll explain other options, ways to make it work and look for all possible solutions, it could be as simple as ordering a small plant or larger plant that may not be in stock but can be obtained l, ill offer those options to make sure we’re getting the right plant for them.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

We produce a couple of plant care items in house. One being a concentrated liquid plant nutrient. In my plant life prior to owning the shop I found a light fertilizer option that was suitable for many plant types and many types of mediums. This was a win/win for my plant care style. Once open, customers asked what I used and the idea clicked. One more item I can add our own branding to and bring customers back time and time again. The formula recipe was locked in from years of use personally I just needed to 100x and scale production. I went from making a single 16oz bottle for personal use to making gallons at a time to bottle, label and sell. Packaging: my background in marketing I knew packaging was key, and sometimes the biggest piece of the cost. The materials require protection from the sun so an average glass jar was the answer so ordering bulk glass bottles was the first step. Labeling was the next. This piece has evolved three times now but we have refined and really jazzed it up to make it a premium look. This pushed me to create a pest prevention spray using essential oils. Many pesticides are chemical based, toxic and stinky. I wanted to formulate a spray that had a pleasant smell for humans but was not friendly for people and pets. This has evolved into a product I can produce a concentrated base for as mix gallons at a time as needed.

Best customer reference is a customer from another city discovered us and bought some plant nutrient but had used it all so he reached out and asked if they could order some and have shipped. Sure! At the time I was thrilled however I was out of bottles. I used a larger bottle and sent as a “refill” so taking that issue and developing a solution for everyone was a greener option too and that is to offer bottle refills at a discounted rate all the time. When selling I mention to save the bottle to return and refill which helps add return customers.

Now every product that a need arises become a business quest and opportunity to brand it to our name.

Advice: do your research. My initial recipe included an essential oil that is considered a pesticide to the EPA and to use it would require registering with the business and labeling requirements. To beat this red tape I opted to leave that ingredient out and offer it from another supplier who has that registration already in place.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

For being a large metro market the plant shop options were quite small. Many garden centers, nurseries but new few who specialize in strictly houseplants. Creating a solid base from our early days in a pop-up location gave us a stepping stone in the neighborhood and exposure due to location. Offering personal assistance and overall hospitality was key to growing our business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Fibonacciplants.com
• Instagram: @fibonacciplants
• Facebook: Fibonacci Plants
• Twitter: @fibonacciplants

Image Credits

Image credit to the Golden Growth and Golden Plant spray product images to @tdvoo on Instagram all others are my own.