Seeds of success: Cultivating growth with Tui
A digital journey rooted in collaboration and innovation
Tui Garden Products has its roots in Mount Maunganui, with a distribution centre in Christchurch. Their roots grow deep – the Tui brand was registered over 100 years ago. In 2018 Tui became part of the Evergreen Garden Care group, gaining access to global innovations in garden care. Renowned for their gardening products and a dedicated team of approximately 80 employees, Tui's products grace the shelves of gardening centers and DIY stores across the nation, including the familiar aisles of Mitre 10.
In 2015, Tui embarked on a journey to amplify their digital presence. Their quest for online growth led them to a partnership with Cucumber, initially with the aim of optimising their Google Ads campaigns. However, this partnership didn't merely bloom; it flourished, as Tui and Cucumber remain committed to growth and innovation. Together, we've undertaken a series of substantial projects, including a comprehensive overhaul of Tui's website. This transformation wasn't limited to aesthetics; it extended to SEO optimisation and integration of analytics, ensuring Tui's digital endeavours bore fruit.
The next challenge - a new website with a new look and a focus on innovation
Frustrated with their old website, Tui and Cucumber embarked on a major overhaul. "Cucumber were very inclusive in the process, really keen to hear what we wanted," recalls Jenna Tkaczyk, Tui's Digital and Content Specialist. "We needed it to perform without losing what the amount of traffic that we were already getting. It was very much a collaborative approach, and a major project. We have huge amount of content. So for them to actually bring that over into a format that was not too much work for us to change was amazing."
The solution - a flexible, open-source content management platform
Cucumber's proposal was to bring Tui and all their content onto the Umbraco platform with a completely new design. "It was a very collaborative process," Jenna recalls. "We had regular updates and meetings. Cucumber were really attentive, they listened to what we needed and they had a really good understanding of the new system. They were always keeping us up to date and managing our expectations around the milestones in the project."
The new website was launched in 2018 and over the years has continued to evolve, adapting to the ever-changing landscape of digital technology. In the last year alone, several significant projects were undertaken. One of these was the creation of the LAWNFORCE Hub, tailored to lawns and lawn management. This project sought to revolutionise the way users engage with lawn products. "Lawn seed can be tricky when you're purchasing it, they all look the same in a pack on the shelf," Jenna explains. "We wanted to bring that experience to life and make it easier for people to choose what seed they're purchasing based on where they live, their climate or what type of lawn that they're looking for."
The incorporation of VR technology enables users to immerse themselves in an informative and engaging experience, enhancing the process of choosing the ideal lawn seed for their unique needs. "They can clearly see what it looks like, see the features and benefits, and if it works in their environment. It makes it much easier for them to choose," Jenna explains. "Our reps and sales team have been really excited about it. It's something new and innovative for them."
The LAWNFORCE Hub is only one of several projects Tui has undertaken with our team. We are also involved in Tui's seasonal campaigns, having recently launched one for Spring. "When it comes to those campaigns, Cucumber takes our ideas and brings them to reality in a way that not only works, but is cost-effective too," says Jenna. Whether it's tweaks to existing pages or large-scale campaigns, Cucumber always works hand-in-hand with Tui, with their focus to continually grow traffic to the website for the brand. Over the years, Cucumber has worked to help Tui innovate and provide new and better ways to interact with their customer base. Going live at the time of this writing is Tui's eCommerce feature. "We have a range of seeds that are online exclusive," says Jenna. "We had to go through a massive upgrade of the website for that to happen. It's our first step into eCommerce, direct to consumer selling, and it's a product that our retailers don't have. It's a big focus for us right now."
The results - major increase to website traffic and significant UX improvements
Tui have experienced a major increase in traffic, hitting 300,000 sessions last month, and have continued to experience huge growth year-on-year to the website since the launch. They dominate search results for gardening-related queries - they're a go-to website. They have an active email database, boasting over a hundred thousand subscribers, which plays a pivotal role in their online strategy. The database is a thriving hub of engagement. On the days when Tui dispatches a newsletter, web traffic surges as audiences flock in.
"We're constantly adding content and working with Cucumber to adjust things, track things," says Jenna. "Organic traffic has been a big driver. It makes up almost 70% of our traffic. People can find us easily due to the work that Cucumber has done around SEO and by constantly adding content. They make sure that we're being found and always looking for ways to improve the user experience (UX). They help us to continually find ways we can do things better or provide more information on certain things."
From Cucumber's perspective, it's not just about doing tech pieces in isolation; it's doing them whilst talking to Tui about what they're trying to achieve and how we can promote it. We have built many interactive dashboards for them, providing them with the measurement of how things are performing.
When it comes to the value that Cucumber have brought to Tui, Jenna is quick to point out their shared desire to innovate. "They've helped us step up in terms of innovation and keeping things fresh," she explains. "They've helped us position ourselves as an innovative brand. We're updating and making changes to our website and our traffic's growing alongside that. There's a lot of value in the day-to-day contact they provide, and that they know our website inside and out. They really do love our brand and they're invested in the site, how it's going, and they get excited when we break records. They're our enthusiastic tech friends who we can call on at any time."
Interested to see what we can do for your business’ digital space? Let's talk.