ScottsMiracle-Gro’s President & COO Nate Baxter on Modernizing the 160-Year-Old Lawn and Garden Business

Ann Berry is joined in-studio by Nate Baxter, President & COO of ScottsMiracle-Gro. They discuss how the 160-year-old company is modernizing its iconic brands, balancing innovation with sustainability, and sunsetting its cannabis subsidiary. Nate explores shifting consumer demographics, regional growth strategies and the company’s planned packaging refresh.
Highlights include:
- How Scotts and Miracle-Gro are being reinvented for millennials and Gen Z
- Why ScottsMiracle-Gro is exiting the cannabis business
- How organic and sustainable lawn-care products are shaping the company’s future
00:00 – Nate Baxter Joins
01:06 – Pandemic hangover and the reset
02:33 – Margin recovery and streamlining
03:25 – Brand portfolio and recession resilience
04:50 – Millennials, Gen Z & wellness
06:51 – “Emerging” consumers, kids and pets
09:04 – Organics, biologicals and safety
10:44 – Modernizing packaging and brand aesthetic
11:59 – E-commerce, website revamp and education
13:32 – Exiting cannabis and Hawthorne’s future
15:22 – Why tech and AI matter in lawn care
17:22 – Weather, forecasting and media allocation
18:27 – Seasonality and fall lawn strategy
21:51 – Free cash flow, debt paydown & M&A
24:05 – What a “transformational” deal could be

$SMG

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