PINE Marten plants was set up by Reece Ewart during the pandemic. In just nine months two stores have been opened, with the aim of making a difference in the plant and agricultural industry.
Name: Reece Ewart
Age: 21
Position: Founder
WHAT IS THE BUSINESS CALLED?
Pine Marten Plants
WHERE IS IT BASED?
Ayrshire
WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS?
I WANTED to make a difference within the plant and agricultural industry. It became clear to me that we need to change the way we think about nature, the environment, and our health.
I wanted to be part of this movement, so the business idea came from this.
My background is in the beauty industry. I was a hairdresser for the largest chain in the world, Toni & Guy. After a while I realised that I didn’t want to pursue a career in hairdressing, but I loved the business side of things. I enjoyed learning about franchising and allowing others to own a part of your business. I would love to create something similar and help to restore the high street in the process.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
PINE Marten Plants is a retail store selling a variety of quality indoor plants, many imported from Holland from the top growers. We’ve created a shopping experience that is friendly and customer centric and I believe this has led to our success over the last year. We truly go above and beyond for our customers.
WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?
OUR target market varies. Our store customers are mainly men and women aged 25-50, often new homeowners.
Whereas online our customers are generally around 18-30. This mix has meant we have been able to attract lots of different people from across Scotland.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?
WE aren’t a plant decor business but instead encourage customers to not just use our products to make a room look good. We want them to use their plants to broaden their horizons to the world around them. We know this is catching on as our customers tell us about how different they feel with plants in their home and how much they care for them.
IS SCOTLAND A GOOD PLACE FOR THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS?
SCOTLAND is a great place for our business, the people of Scotland love shopping at independent businesses and are generally connected to the landscape.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
I LOVE how it doesn’t feel like a job or a duty and I can work seven days a week and more hours than I ever have, and I feel as alive as ever. It feels like we’re providing a service to Scotland and Mother Earth in a way.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
I WAS setting up during the pandemic so having the support of The Prince’s Trust meant I had a stress free and positive approach to establishing the business. Doing the trust’s Enterprise course meant I was well prepared to face any challenges, the biggest one so far being Brexit. Changes in law and tax hikes has meant we had to raise our prices, but our customers understand and are willing to pay slightly more for the quality of our products.
WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS?
WE have opened two stores in just nine months so in 10 years we hope to be a franchised network of business owners across the UK and Ireland. I would imagine the business will move into other areas such as outdoors, floristry and plants for commercial outlets.
You can find Pine Marten Plants at pinemartenplants.com or at pinemartenplants on Instagram and Facebook.
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