Green thumb leads marketing executive to new plant business
May 2, 2019
When the succulents, cacti and air plants began overwhelming Becka Burger’s Sioux Falls home, it became clear that if she wanted to keep planting, she needed to start selling.
Burger, a partner at marketing firm HenkinSchultz, found that after a day of work and family, tinkering in her “plant room” at home brought a sense of peace.
“It almost becomes my zen time,” she said. “It was a hobby for a couple years, and then this fall for some reason I just decided to dive headfirst into it. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and read about how to do this, and it just exploded for me.”
She has learned the best way to raise the plants, and after trying to propagate 200 of them in the fall, she realized it was time to start sharing the knowledge.
Her business, Prickled Pink, launched about a month ago. The 605 Made Spring Market on Friday will be her first time selling her work publicly.
She’ll be bringing wooden box planters, three styles of handmade air plant holders, a few terrariums, two large logs holding plants and birch pots with zebra plants and aloe varieties.
Prickled Pink’s business model, though, is more about helping others create. Burger is offering in-home parties similar to direct-sales companies where guests can make their own arrangement with her guidance.
The parties last 90 minutes to two hours, and she already has booked several.
“A lot of people are really into succulents and looking for a girls’ night out or reason to get together with friends,” she said. “I’ll go through care tips to make people feel more comfortable – when they (the plants) need more water or less or more light. I want them leaving knowing what to do with the plant so they get excited about it.”
Burger also does custom orders and for now isn’t planning to add e-commerce. Shipping challenges make that tougher.
She sees a lot of potential in the at-home party model, though, and is using her marketing skills to help promote it.
“I’m hoping if it takes off and I can make it easy enough, I can turn it into a franchise with dealers around the country doing these parties, and create the business model and marketing tools for them,” she said. “I just thought, I have this idea, why don’t I do this for myself and go for it? It just seemed like I should do it.”
You can find Prickled Pink at the 605 Made Spring Market from noon to 8 p.m. Friday in the atrium of The First National Bank in Sioux Falls at Ninth Street and Phillips Avenue.
