A champion of exciting and groundbreaking garden products, the Glee New Product Showcase has earnt an unrivalled industry wide reputation for unearthing the latest in innovation and the future businesses of tomorrow.
Selected from hundreds of entries showcased at the annual show, the winning products are chosen by an expert panel of judges, representing independent and multiple retailers and international suppliers.
Here we catch up with i-Glo who won an impressive three awards in the highly competitive categories, to see how things have developed for them as a business since Glee 2017.
The North-East company has developed a revolutionary and maintenance-free glow in the dark technology, allowing them to create a range of garden and landscaping products that shine all night after naturally charging in daylight. The i-Glo Decking Disc won the Best of British Award at last year’s Glee, as well as Best Landscaping Product, and the most coveted award of all, Best New Product.
Winning the Best New Product category in the 2017 Awards provided an immediate boost to i-Glo’s business as Director, Mike Storey explains: “We were very proud and honoured to win the awards following three years of extensive research and development. This has given us awareness and respect within the industry almost straight away. Since winning the New Product Awards, we have invested in manufacturing equipment in our North Shields base with an upturn in local jobs.”
With 2018 looking extremely positive for i-Glo, it has not been without its challenges either. The garden retail sector sat up and took notice of their innovative way to bring areas of decking and paths to life at night, with many retailers wanting to stock them. “The main challenge was to arrive at a business model which is able to work within the garden retail pricing structure," Mike commented.
Their current production facility also had to be changed and i-Glo found themselves investing in the latest technology within their plant to keep up with the increasing demand for their products following their Glee win. Mike quickly identified automation as an opportunity for his business and these new processes have resulted in new job creations within the company, as well as minimising rejects and reducing overheads.
The future is certainly looking bright for i-Glo as Mike explains: “We have just completed an exclusive arrangement with leading composite decking manufacturer, Ecodek, enabling us to bring to market and distribute our decking disc within the retail sector. We have added more products to the decking range to satisfy customer requirements including i-Glo paving, edging and stepping stones.”
And what would Mike’s advice be to other start-up businesses looking to emulate i-Glo’s success? “The route to market is the most important consideration. Identifying a suitable partner company that has the appropriate contacts and connections should be the main priority in order to sell your product and plan your sales.”
Entry into the Glee New Products Showcase is now open and is completely free of charge to all Glee 2018 exhibitors.
The showcase will feature entries from twelve different product categories:
- Best Retail Services and Experiences Products
- Best Outdoor Entertaining Products
- Best Garden Decoration Products
- Best Home, Gift and Clothing Products
- Best Wildlife and Pets Products
- Best Garden Care - Growing Accessories Products
- Best Garden Care – Chemicals, Fertilisers and Growing Media Products
- Best Plants, Seeds and Bulbs Products
- Best Tools and Machinery Products
- Best Landscaping Products
- Best of British and the Glee Consumer Choice Award, sponsored by Grow Your Own Magazine.
All entries can be found in a in the New Product Showcase area in Hall 20, with the winners being announced at a special award presentation organised and run by leading trade publication, Garden Trade News.
