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About Us

Over a dozen years ago as a retailer, I was looking for a private label line of tags that would be larger in size, have lots of information, unique and interesting shapes. Horticultural tags at that time were small, had little or no information other than the plant name and a postage size picture if any on the tag. The same size and shape tag was used over and over from small packs to 5 gallon pots. There was nothing to keep the plant and tag together in the pot and it was not unusual to see plants with no tag or the wrong tag. As gardening grew in popularity and the "Big Boxes" jumped into the market Independents needed to change their plant marketing strategy to stay ahead. Heartland Design and Marketing tag programs were created by an Independent Garden Center retailer for exactly that reason - to stand out from the boxes.

When creating Heartland Design's first trademarked brand, “Chef Jeff,” I was not looking to change the industry, I was looking for something that would give me a higher perceived value and thus higher retails. My team came up with our first line by using the nickname of a family friend, creating a tag with a skinny and funny looking Chef named Jeff and as they say the rest is retail history. It took two years to lose the image of the skinny chef, but we kept the name, and created more brands.  Programs and trademarked brands continue to grow as our industry changes to compete with the boxes.

At Heartland Design we are unlike other tag companies.  We are a family owned tag company with programs focused to appeal to the Independent Garden Centers and their core customer base, women.  Even though we are a "boutique" tag company we have artists, photo libraries, and all the resources of a cutting edge innovative international printing company. We also have the knowledge and experience gained from over  40 years in retail running one of the most profitable and successful IGCs in the country.

At Heartland Design we are unlike other tag companies.  We are a family owned tag company with programs focused to appeal to the Independent Garden Centers and their core customer base, women.  Even though we are a "boutique" tag company we have artists, photo libraries, and all the resources of a cutting edge innovative international printing company. We also have the knowledge and experience gained from over  40 years in retail running one of the most profitable and successful IGCs in the country.

In creating every tag we take into account ever-changing trends in colors, fashion and foods. Looking back some of our ideas have become the norm in the industry, large colorful tags with custom die cuts and tags locked into the pot so the customers can be confident they are buying the plant they want. We were also the first to color coordinate tags and pot colors. Heartland tag backs are more than just a few words stating how far apart to place plants, but they also have information on how to grow the plant, the history of the variety, and culinary uses. Our tag backs are printed upside down and inverted so the customer can read the tag back without removing the tag from the pot.

Our unique brands are trademarked and territories are protected with License Agreements. Our talented team also creates private label programs that enhance the Independent's brand. Heartland Design's team continues to create new programs as colors and trends change in the market place. As our existing programs have grown we include POP, websites, QR codes and social networking to help our customers to promote the brands. We have come a long way from that square white tag with the fuzzy picture and our skinny chef.

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UV Printing

We are partnered with the internationally known horticultural printer Norwood Industries.  As their only U.S. agent and partner, we have access to Norwood’s cutting edge technology and newest printing equipment as well as exposure to the ever changing world-wide horticultural market place.

Norwood, has been printing plant tags on plastic for as long as plant tags have been printed on plastic. As pioneers in the industry, they have invested in cutting edge technology and talented staff.  This allows them to achieve world acclaim in plastic printing, supplying plant tags to the Australian and North American horticultural markets.  This same commitment to innovation is seen in every tag printed.

Special Inks & Varnishes

Norwood’s specially formulated UV inks and varnishes help provide superior ink adhesion, durability and outstanding gloss levels. Combined with their UV offset print technologies, Norwood now achieves Mirror Finish® print results with gloss levels of up to 95%, previously only available by off line lamination processes.

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© Heartland Design Associates - 17745 St. James Road, Brookfield, WI 53045 - 262-781-2630