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 future00:00 – Nate Baxter Joins01:06 – Pandemic hangover and the reset02:33 – Margin recovery and streamlining03:25 – Brand portfolio and recession resilience04:50 – Millennials, Gen Z & wellness06:51 – “Emerging” consumers, kids and pets09:04 – Organics, biologicals and safety10:44 – Modernizing packaging and brand aesthetic11:59 – E-commerce, website revamp and education13:32 – Exiting cannabis and Hawthorne’s future15:22 – Why tech and AI matter in lawn care17:22 – Weather, forecasting and media allocation18:27 – Seasonality and fall lawn strategy21:51 – Free cash flow, debt paydown & M&A24:05 – What a “transformational” deal could be $SMG