Vol. XI No. 1
January / February 2017
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www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com
2016 Mulch Sales Were Strong in Many Areas of the U.S.
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y most anecdotal accounts, mulch industry sales were up in 2016 compared to 2015. Survey responses and conversations with mulch producers from around the U.S. suggested that colored mulch continued to gain in popularity, while consumers increasingly are gravitating toward bagged products over bulk, primarily due to convenience of transporting and spreading the material. “I think sales are trending upward,” said Robert LaGasse, executive director of the Mulch and Soil Council. “There are always cyclical trends. The weather is our worst enemy and our best friend. It varies widely across the country, but in general I would say that 2016 was a good year.” He said colored mulch now accounts for almost 70 percent of the market. “If you would have told me 10 to 12 years ago that colored mulch would be 60 to 70 percent of the market I would have laughed,” he said. “We’re now even colorizing natural materials because consumers are demanding longevity.” LaGasse said he is optimistic that the home construction business in improving and will continue to do so in the upcoming year, which will likely drive up demand for mulch and landscaping products. “New home construction hurt us in the 2008 to 2016 period, but that has been improving,” LaGasse said.
Better sales
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ost producers contacted for this article said they are optimistic about their prospects in 2017. Richard Newton, of Eastern Red Cedar Products, Marengo, Ind., said 2016 sales of both bulk and bagged products were about the same as in 2015. In 2017, Newton says, he expects to sell “All we can move.” Billy Stinson, of Yard Works LLC, Mosely, Va., said he anticipates a 10 percent improvement in sales for bulk and bagged products compared to 2016.
By Ken McEntee “We expect demand to remain high,” Stinson said. In 2016 the company increased its sales in bulk mulch by approximately 35 percent, and bagged mulch sales increased by more than 300 percent. “Our best seller in both bulk and bagged products was dark walnut colored mulch,” he said. In Gettysburg, Pa., Matthew Nolt, president of Nolt’s Mulch Products, said his sales were up 15 percent in 2016 compared to the prior year, driven mainly by demand for black colored mulch, which he sells in bulk. “I expect that sales will probably be just as good this year, or better,” Nolt said. Duffy Layton, owner of Duffy Layton Inc., Stanfordville, N.Y., said wood mulch sales for his fiscal year 2016 had already exceeded the previous year’s sales with a few more months to go. “We definitely sold more of all our mulches in 2016 and it seems to have steadily increased for the last three years in our area,” Layton said. “Our compost mulch sales seem to grow quicker – we sell more compost mulch than all of our
wood mulches, including natural black, brown and red, combined. Our leaf compost has really taken off as well.” Layton said he had sold almost 1,700 yards of wood mulch so far in FY2016, compared to about 2,600 yards of compost mulch. Cornie Brouwer, co-owner of B&B Bedding Inc., Oskaloosa, Iowa, said he expects to realize a 5-10 percent increase in sales in 2017 – mainly because of more retail distribution locations. “We’ve been in business since 1989 and sales have gotten better every year,” Brouwer said. “This year we’ve been awarded a larger customer base with more stores in a big chain. We think the housing market will be stronger this year. Unemployment is down and people seem to have some more money to spend. So hopefully demand will be a little higher.” A trend Brouwer noted is the consolidation of mulch product lines at retail centers. “Some of our customers are pairing down their SKUs (Stock Keeping Units),” he said. “They are telling us that they want to narrow it down to five or six products instead of seven or eight.” Continued on page 3