Due to the home isolation of the epidemic, indoor plants have become a hot spot for consumption, and the sales of indoor plant brands such as Sill, Horti and Bloomscape have soared. At the same time, a group of emerging humans-"Plantfluencers" (green planting net red) was born. They share gardening content online through photos, videos and lessons.

It is not uncommon for Internet celebrities to become popular with gardening content, but their popularity and influence have risen sharply during the epidemic. Sarah Penny, Content Director of Influencer Intelligence, a KOL marketing and data analysis platform, said: "Since home isolation, we have seen people have a strong interest in such social media accounts."

Plantfluencers share a wide range of content, from indoor plant care tips to sustainable lifestyles. They have attracted thousands of followers through Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, and they have also made green plant content marketing a hot business.

Some of these Plantfluencers have established partnerships with direct-to-consumer plant suppliers such as local florists or Sill. They have also published some teaching courses, published books, and obtained sponsorships from other industry brands.

Green planting net red

Christopher Griffin (Instagram account: @PlantKween) is a Plantfluencers whose traffic has increased significantly during the epidemic. His Instagram followers have increased by about 150,000 to a total of more than 225,000. His homepage is full of colorful plants, popular science content, and collaboration content with brands such as Horti. Christopher Griffin's job is a full-time educator and assistant director of the LGBTQ+ Center at New York University.

Christopher Griffin said: “People are looking for opportunities to green their spaces and let the working home environment have more sunshine. I have been sharing how I did this.” Christopher Griffin added a new approximation to himself during the epidemic. 50 indoor plants, totaling more than 170 plants.

In addition to the surge in demand for indoor plants, Christopher Griffin also attributed his popularity to people's recognition of multiculturalism. He believes that this factor also played a role when these identity issues were pushed to the forefront.

Nick Cutsumpas (Instagram account: @FarmerNickNYC) participated in the Netflix plant modeling reality show "The Big Flower Fight", which premiered in May. He said that in the past five months, his number of fans has almost doubled.

Now, Nick Cutsumpas has more than 60,000 followers on Instagram, and he has been working with brands such as Allbirds, Whole Foods and Nissan. Nick Cutsumpas said that these brand collaborations were originally finalized before the outbreak of the epidemic, and have now developed into a stable and continuous partnership.

Reagan Kastner (TikTok account @stylushco) only became Plantfluencers after the epidemic. She started operating her TikTok account in April and gained nearly 10,000 fans within a month. Now TikTok has more than 256,000 fans. She uses TikTok to share planting techniques. She said these videos have brought traffic and sales to her own plant company, Stylush Co..

Green plant brand

Indoor plant sales are booming, which helps Plantfluencers obtain and maintain brand sponsorship. Direct-to-consumer plant brands such as Sill, Horti and Bloomscape said in June that their sales have soared. Even some small plant shops and nurseries that were forced to close at the beginning of the epidemic have achieved sales growth, and they have received a large number of online and telephone orders. The four indoor plant brands interviewed by American media Business Insider all stated that they have recently increased their impact content marketing budgets and expanded partnerships.

Bridget Russo, Chief Marketing Officer of Bloomscape, a DTC (Internet Direct Sales) indoor plant brand, said: “Due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, we have increased the content pushed by KOLs.” Bloomscape will launch an "ambassador" project in the next few weeks. The candidates include KOLs and fans of the brand, and will increase content release on YouTube.

Plants.com said that before they worked with a new internet celebrity every month, after the outbreak, the frequency of cooperation increased to once a week.

For information on the growth of Sill, Horti and Bloomscape's green plant business during the epidemic, please refer to the previous report of Luxe.Co: Home isolation has caused a surge in green plant sales in the United States. Three Internet direct-sale gardening companies share their latest observations.