Protection in 60 seeconds

The young Austrian company Innogarden has introduced a new idea to the marketplace, having developed a crop protection tunnel that is being marketed under the name of "GardenGuard".
The product is like a tent in design. It features a pop-up system that makes it possible to put it up over a garden bed and fix it there with ground pegs, or take it down again, within just 60 seconds. It is designed as a module, with two end sections that can be zipped together either directly or with any number of extension modules one metre long in between.
Polyester netting provides all-purpose protection from external environmental factors such as hail, storm and rain, and from insect pests, birds, and dogs or cats as well. Two other variants are available in addition to the all-purpose protection: frost protection made from breathable fleece that allows light to penetrate, plus a PVC cold frame that achieves an atmospheric reabsorption effect like a miniature glasshouse.
But even with such a supposedly simple product it's the little things that cause the problems. For instance, it was vital to choose a mesh size that will keep insects away without offering too much wind resistance and so allowing the pressure to become too strong. "Developing the product took two years," say Thomas Reisenhofer and Patrick Reindl, who founded the company. "We simulated hail and wind by pelting it with gravel."
Ultimately it is a question of quality: the frame is made from fibre glass, the netting from polyester and the 6 mm zips provide stability. Focusing so much attention on quality pays off: there were no customer returns in the first selling season.
The two entrepreneurs are well aware of the tasks that they now face: "Conveying the product's advantages at the PoS is the next great challenge." Which is why they are turning their attention to two points when it comes to merchandising: first they have simplified communication via packaging, leaflets and displays yet again, in the process reducing the core message to "crop protection tunnel".
Next they are busy indentifying efficient distributors with the help of whom they will be able to distribute the product in European export markets, following its launch on the Austrian market in 2009. The partners intend to have a sales force of their own so that the product can be positively explained and marketed to retail customers.
Meanwhile Innogarden has taken the first few steps abroad: marketing partners have already been found for distribution…