Green Entrepreneurs Assemble—The newsletter for green entrepreneurs and professionals.

A rising tide lifts all boats 🙂 

Hi, I am Akhoy, all the way from North-eastern India.

I put in 100s of hours every month to reach out and interview business people around the world, who are working towards creating a more sustainable future for the planet. Some of them are just starting, while others are generating millions in revenue. There are invaluable lessons you can learn from people at different stages of growing green businesses.

I live in a biodiversity hotspot myself that is undergoing rapid urbanization and deforestation (these two are BFF, to be honest). I understand the importance of successfully monetizing activities that are meant to protect the earth’s ecosystems.

Interestingly, there is very little first-hand content online on green entrepreneurship, which is why I decided to create this newsletter.

Podcasts demand a good deal of time to listen to, but the written format is easier to consume. I have also highlighted important words and phrases to make each interview a quick read.

Without further ado, let’s welcome today’s guest—

Table of Contents

1. Backstory

2. Hello Nature

3. Business Model

4. EBIC and Biostimulants

5. Brand Communication

6. KPIs for Marketing

7. Information About Emerging Trends

8. 50 Year Long Success of Hello Nature

9. Solutions to Greenwashing

10. Day in Life

11. Biggest Challenge and Biggest Success

12. Thoughts on Circular Economy

13. Future Plans

14. Collaborate With Alice

15. “1 Minute Summary” of the Interview

(Note: I have preserved Alice’s voice, but made light edits for readability)

🟢Please tell me about your backstory and how you started in this field.

Yes, well, in fact, I started my career in marketing, not in the agricultural field, but in another business. Then eight years ago, I was hired by Italpollina, which is now Hello Nature.

They were looking for a marketing manager with other skills, not coming from the same sector, but a marketing manager who can bring something new and different in the sector. And so, that is where my journey in agriculture began.

And then, I fell in love with the agricultural world because I think that it's the best sector to work in. In fact, we all work for humanity because, without agriculture, we could not be here.

So, I find a profound meaning in what I do, and so, this is why I'm here and I'm happy to work in this environment every day.

🟢Tell me about Hello Nature.

Hello Nature is a family-owned business which was founded more than 50 years ago, in 1971, in Italy. So, the idea was to use a byproduct from animal sources, like the chicken manure which is very abundant in the Verona region, to create some organic fertilizers which are rich in nutrients, in NPK.

And so, that was the main idea. So, it was a circular economy perspective of the founder of Italpolina. It was our first business, and still our first business.

In the year 2000, the third generation of the Bonini family, who still run the company, decided to diversify into another business, which is the business of biostimulants, also for agriculture.

So, we selected a raw material of vegetal origin. So, our biostimulants are completely of vegetal origin. And we have now a plant for biostimulants in Italy, in Novara, near Milan.

We have, since 2018, a plant for biostimulants in the US, in Indiana. And we will soon start the production of a second plant of organic fertilizers in the US, also in Indiana.

It's now an international group. And by the way, we changed the name from Italpollina to Hello Nature in 2021, because that was when the group was really structured to sell internationally, where we have subsidiaries, etc.

And so, we decided that Italpollina was no longer representing our identity, and we decided to choose Hello Nature as the name of the group to express our values, our goals, and have a clear identity of where we want to go in the future.

🟢What type of business model do you use for Hello Nature?

The business model is to propose a complete offer of organic fertilizers, and of course, biostimulants of vegetal origin. Plus, we have some beneficial microbials. We offer a complete nutrition range to our clients.

We work mainly in partnership with a main distributor. We have one distributor in each country.

There are some countries where our presence is bigger. For example, Italy, of course, is our main country, then France, and the US, where our presence is stronger.

There we work with different distributors in the country. But otherwise, in countries where our presence is less we work with one main distributor. So, that's the case, for example, in India (Aditya Speciality Agronutrition LLP, Nashik​ w-76, M.I.D.C. Ambad, Nashik-422010​), or in South America, or in the Middle East.

Our presence is not very strong in India. But it's a market that has high potential because it's developing. And we want to strengthen our position there.

🟢So, you recently joined the EBIC. Tell me about biostimulants. How can they create a more sustainable future?

So, in Europe, Biostimulants have been regulated for the first time in the world.

And so, we have a clear definition of what biostimulants' four functions are. Of those, there are three main functions— i) improvement of quality traits of the crop, ii) improvement of nutrient use efficiency, and iii) improvement of tolerance to abiotic stresses, for example, adverse weather conditions, salinity, drought, frost, cold, etc.

So, given these three characteristics, there are many interesting ways in which biostimulants can help achieve a more sustainable agriculture. First of all, I would name the nutrient efficiency trait, which is very interesting, because if you use a biostimulant you can decrease the dose of chemical fertilizers to be applied as the biostimulants improve the nutrient efficiency.

You can obtain the same yield while applying less chemical inputs. So, this can be very interesting for the farmer from an economic standpoint, but also from an environmental perspective.

Biostimulants also improve the quality of the crops. Not only can we have more yield, but we also have products that are richer in nutrients, products that are healthier and can also be handled better during transport, during their shelf life, etc.

And in this way, you can also reduce waste, and so this creates a healthier and more resilient food chain.

Then there is the tolerance to abiotic stress. This is a very important characteristic because we are facing climate change.

And so, we need to use more biostimulants to prime crops to better respond to those stresses in order to have the required yield for the farmers.

You cannot completely replace chemical inputs with biostimulants. It's, for the moment, not possible. But you can significantly reduce the dose, for example, by 30%, and you can get the same or also sometimes better yield. So, of course, this is a very interesting characteristic.

🟢As CMO, how do you define and communicate the unique value proposition of your brand in the market? How do you ensure that Hello Nature's values are effectively communicated in marketing materials and campaigns?

Well, I try to be sure that our identity is recognizable everywhere. This is very important for me.

And since we have recently changed the name, it's the biggest challenge. Because a lot of our clients, especially those who have known us for many years, still call us Italpolina, or they don't make the link between Italpollina and Hello Nature.

So, for me, now, the aim is to raise brand awareness about Hello Nature and about our goals. Then, of course, the website is very important. This is why we have recently relaunched a new website which offers different tools for the farmers and for our distributors. And, well, social media.

You need to be on social media because if you are not there, people will not find you. But I would say that we are not particularly engaged in that. The digital approach is fairly new in the agricultural sector.

So, we are starting to run some digital ad campaigns, with some success. We run them on Google in target countries. We are only running some tests and we are fairly new in this, I cannot say that it's a key for the actual strategy.

But to me, it will be a key to development in the future, especially in those countries where we are new and we want to be seen more. So, digital campaigns are interesting because of their cost-effective characteristic compared to other types of campaigns like press paper.

So, digital campaigns are fairly economical and they allow you to reach many, many people and you can target them, which is great. So, I would say that digital, in the future, will be a key factor for development for us.

🟢What kind of KPIs do you use to measure the success of your marketing campaigns, digital or otherwise?

That’s difficult, of course. The number of people who have visited the website, who have interacted with the website. People who have filled up some forms which are on the website or filled up some forms which are on different landing pages.

We can analyze the interactions on the social media posts, and the digital campaign results. How many people left, filled the form after seeing our campaign? How many people buy the product after they've seen it in the digital campaign? Those are easiest to measure.

It’s not very easy to measure the effect of all your marketing actions. Sometimes, it's very hard. For example, we do some trade shows, and that's very expensive. And, on the other side, it's difficult to measure the effectiveness of those activities.

So, you have to be there as the other competitors are there too. But, on the other side, it's difficult to measure the impact.

🟢How do you stay informed about the emerging trends and innovations in your field?

Well, EBIC is very useful because it provides a lot of overview of the market. Of course, it's European, so it's about Europe mainly.

But, I would say that trade associations are very interesting to have data and to stay in touch about news and information. Then, I do my research on the internet, of course. But, yes, trade associations are very, very useful.

And, for example, we are in EBIC. We have some specific associations in France. In the US we have recently joined TFI. We were a member of BPIA. So, in this way, you can have a lot of information about the industry.

🟢Hello Nature has been around for 50 years. What do you think is the reason behind Hello Nature's success for so many years?

We are a family business. And so, we have a different approach from all the big groups that are now in agriculture and that are managing the agricultural sector.

We are flexible, we are agile, and we can quickly catch opportunities. This is one of the factors. And then, I would also say that clients find in us the same values that they have in our name, in our people.

So, people are also key because they are our ambassadors, of course. But yes, I would say that most of our clients are aligned with our values and goals and what we express. This is maybe the secret behind the success.

🟢Any business that seeks to have a positive impact on the environment comes under scrutiny and sometimes entrepreneurs accidentally commit greenwashing. So, how should we prevent greenwashing and communicate authentic values of products to consumers?

Just communicate what you do.

But companies can be accused of greenwashing because they don't have strong data. They just say, “Okay, yes, so my products have a low environmental impact.” But how can you measure that?

So, probably the best way is to have strong data behind your affirmations.

At Hello Nature we are starting now a process to have strong data, and to measure the greenhouse gas emissions, and the carbon footprint of our company and our products. So, probably having strong data is the best way to show that what you claim is real.

And then, of course, you can give yourself objectives. So, when you have data, you can say, “Okay, now my carbon footprint is this one, and I want to reduce it in five years. I want to reduce it by this much percent, and these are the ways I'm going to do it.”

If companies have a strong and detailed plan, they won’t be doing greenwashing anymore because they can affirm and prove that what they say is true.

🟢What does a day in your life look like?

It's a very routine day. Sometimes I'm not in the office, but most of the time, I am in the office because I have to run the activities. I have my team, which needs to know what they have to do.

So, I often go to the gym in the morning to save time. Then, I go to the office. I eat. Then, during the day, often I am on calls. I would say 50% of my time, I'm on calls with the different departments.

Mostly with internal people, but also with clients and stakeholders. It may be about different projects that we are running. Then, around six, I leave the office and go home because I have my child and my family who need me as well.

So, it's not anything really exciting. I'm not travelling all the time. I'm not attending events all the time. I'm mostly working with a computer.

🟢 What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a CMO and what has been your biggest win as CMO?

I think that the biggest challenge has been the name change. And it's still going on. It's an achievement too because in three years we have gained a lot.

But there are still a lot of things we need to do to improve brand awareness about our name change, especially in Italy, for example, where our identity was very important.

So, everybody knew us as Italpollina and they are resistant to change. So, yes, for me, it was the name change. So, we completely redesigned the identity of the company to express our values correctly. So, that is also my biggest achievement, I hope.

🟢What are your thoughts on the current state of the green industry, or circular economy, or net zero goals?

The circular economy is a challenge because if you want to go circular, all your inputs and your suppliers in your chain have to be circular. And it implies that all the actors of your chain have a circular economy as well.

So, it's a change of the whole society that you have to put in place if you really want to create a circular economy. And that is very, very hard to achieve. And most of all, the circular economy is perceived just as using waste to produce something else. But there is much more behind that.

There are a lot of parts of the circular economy that you need to consider. It can be a symbiosis with some of the actors of your chain. It can be responsible consumption. So, there are many points other than reusing some waste to create something else.

So, I'm not sure if the world is really ready to go circular economy, although I would like it to. But there are a lot of initiatives, local initiatives that are being put in place to go more circular. And of course, the reuse of waste is one of them.

🟢What are your plans for the rest of the year for Hello Nature?

This year is going to be a year of consolidation. We won’t do big launches this year. We have done big launches in the past years, many new products, new technologies.

But this year, we want to focus on the actual range that we have. And also, we want to refocus our attention on organic fertilizers, which is our primary business, which has been impacted by the skyrocketing energy costs.

So, we need to focus on that to revalue some value to our organic fertilizers. Biostimulants are still very important, but this year, we are focusing more on the organics and how we can value those products that we offer.

🟢 If you would like any of our readers to help you out, anything, what would it be?

I would say that the key factor for the success of a company is indeed people because they represent the company. And without them, there is no way you could reach your clients.

So, people are very important. And also, partnerships nowadays are crucial. So, the relationships should be partnerships and not just a relationship of selling and buying.

So, I'm talking for our suppliers and also for our dealers. So, having partners in which you can trust and with which you want to build something is probably a key factor for success.

Connect with Alice on Linkedin: Alice Toderi | LinkedIn

🟢“1 Minute Summary” of the Interview

• Background and Career Journey:

  • Alice Toderi started her career in marketing and later transitioned to agriculture with Italpollina, now known as Hello Nature.

• About Hello Nature:

  • Family-owned business founded in 1971 in Italy that initially focused on organic fertilizers from animal byproducts.

• Business Model:

  • Offers complete range of organic fertilizers, biostimulants, and beneficial microbials.

• Biostimulants and Sustainability:

  • Biostimulants have functions including improving crop quality, nutrient use efficiency, and stress tolerance. They can considerably lessen chemical requirements.

• Marketing Strategy:

  • Views digital campaigns as cost-effective and key for future development.

• Staying Informed and Industry Trends:

  • Relies on trade associations like EBIC and others for market insights.

• Key to Success:

  • Attributes success to being a flexible family business with aligned values.

• Solutions to Greenwashing:

  • Emphasizes the importance of having strong data to back environmental claims and setting measurable objectives.

• Role Challenges:

  • The biggest challenge is navigating the name change and maintaining brand identity.

• Future Plans for Hello Nature:

  • Focusing more on organic fertilizers.

• Call for Collaboration:

  • Alice highlights the importance of people and partnerships in business success, and seeks trustworthy relationships for mutual growth.

The next interview is with Ilea Buffier from Australia. She is the founder of Evalue8, a carbon accounting SAAS company.