If you’ve ever done any gardening, you’ve probably heard of Scotts Miracle-Gro, a soil treatment that is supposed to boost the production of healthy, strong plants. It’s a fairly mainstream product, available at almost every local hardware/garden store in America.
But company CEO Jim Hagedorn’s recent announcement about plans for Scotts is decidedly not mainstream. Speaking to the press earlier this week, Hagedorn said he planned to look into selling Miracle-Gro to folks who grow medical marijuana. “I want to target the pot market,” he said. “There’s no good reason we haven’t.”
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Hagedorn is considering the acquisition of “niche dirt companies” used by MMJ growers. The lawn-and-garden corporation is looking for new revenue streams to offset slowed expansion from big-box stores like Home Depot and Lowes, which are responsible for 2/3 of Scotts’ income.
Some of the necessary research is already complete. Scotts products often turn up when cannabis growers are raided, though there is some dissension in the pot growing community about the value of Miracle-Gro. Some growers swear by it, while others claim it leads to burnt, stressed plants.
According to the Journal the market Scotts may be tapping – the medical marijuana industry – could have sales around $1.7 billion this year, and that’s just the type of money the iconic lawn-and-garden-care company is looking for.
