BGI: from plant grower to plant food manufacturer
For one local company, it was a natural transition from plant grower to plant food manufacturer.
“Commercial nurseries started buying our Bougain when they saw the beauty in the bougainvillea,” said Tom Scannell, owner and founder of Bougainvillea Growers International. “We realized something was missing in the industry,
“Commercial growers work for years to develop the most effective formulas,” Scannell shares. “Their livelihood depends on using just the right blends for the plants they are producing. Homeowners should be using what the growers are using. It just makes sense.”
That is why the notion for BGI to move away from growing and into producing fertilizers became a reality.
Scannell had been a commercial farmer for decades before shifting to fertilizer manufacturer 2012.
Scannell, who resides on St. James City, an agriculture community on Pine Island, said sales have doubled since the business change and the company is particularly excited about the growth on Amazon.
Scannell is grateful that the relationship built during his bougainvillea days remained intact after the shift to fertilizers. Bougainvillea Growers International, better known as BGI these days, is rapidly outgrowing its 5,00-square-foot facility.
“We’re stacked to the ceiling, and will need double the space to expand,” he said.
His degree in soil science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and following the cutting edge research being done by agricultural scientists at Cornell University, Michigan State University and University of California Davis is the driving force behind the blends being offered by BGI. Proper nutrition is the key to successful growing.
“It’s about beauty; we want to help homeowners to realize natural beauty in their landscapes,” he said.
BGI recently introduced its subscription service for fertilizers and has released a variety of new products and sizes over the past few years.
“We are listening to our customers and working rapidly to release formulas they are looking for,” he said.
BGI will be introducing its first organic formula for spring 2016. The new membership program offers a soil test kit with results analyzed by Scannell himself.
“Soil health is vital to plant health,” he said. “We will tackle formulas one by one until we have a solution for everyone’s garden”
BGI products have been used by Walt Disney World, Edison and Ford Winter Estates and Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Falk.
BGI is headquartered in St. James City and has a manufacturing facility in Cape Coral. For additional information on BGI, visit wow.BGI-USA.com or call 561-374-9216