Color Trends
ENTERTING THE DARK AGE: A SHIFT IN COLOR CHOICE
No matter the state. No matter the region. A clear trend in mulch colorant preferences is remaking neighborhoods across the country.
“Right now, brown and black are king,” said Brad Blickley, a Colorbiotics territory manager based in the Midwest. His counterparts serving customers across North America report the same shift.
“In the last two years, we’ve seen a big trend toward black,” said Chris Ingalls, a Colorbiotics territory manager who’s based in Georgia and covers the Southeast.
“If one neighborhood does it, every other one seems to follow that trend, and you see a big uptick of that color.” - Chris Ingalls
Over the past 25 years, as colored mulch gained popularity, regions of the country developed distinct preferences. One area would prefer shades of red, while another would go for browns and to a lesser extent, golds. But industry leaders have noted a blurring of the regional lines in the last couple of years. Darker colors have become the dominant color across the country.
For producers, the trend toward darker shades presents an opportunity to reach neighborhoods making the switch, as everyone tries to keep up with the Joneses.
Another possible factor in the changing preferences is that a lot of new construction features white homes with dark roofs, and the rich-soil appearance of black and brown mulch complements these exteriors.
Danny Smith, a Colorbiotics territory manager who serves Virginia and the Carolinas, has witnessed a big swing during his more than two decades selling colorant. “When I started, red was number one,” he said. “Now, browns continue to grow and black is increasing. We never used to see black even eight years ago.”
In the Northeast, some sales managers estimate black colorant now accounts for almost two-thirds of sales, with darker shades of brown also on the rise.
While societal divisions make headlines, one trend is uniting neighborhoods: black and brown mulch are covering a lot of ground.