Artificial grass also known as artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It was previously mostly used in stadiums for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial buildings as well. Start your own business supplying and/or installing artificial grass.

The business
This is both a retail business (buy and resell the turf) as well as a service business (installing the turf), from a small business perspective, I would assume the retail and installation service business would be larger than just the retail.

Target market
The largest market for small businesses in South Africa would be the residential homeowners who are tired of maintaining lawn or tired of looking at their ugly gardens and want something to instantly brighten it up.

Marketing the business
When doing marketing it is important to understand why people would need your product and why they would switch from natural to artificial grass.

The first general benefit is maintenance; artificial grass requires no irrigation or trimming and can withstand heavy use.

In South Africa there would be a regional benefit in Cape Town where people’s water usage have been rationed to the point of law enforcement officers been called to people who are “abusing” water. So there might be a growing market there.

What business model is right for you?
While I have previously mentioned that there might be a bigger opportunity for the installation of artificial grass, the logical conclusion would be if you do not want to install the grass, then becoming an agent of a manufacturer to sell or resell to people who are installing the grass would be the most logical step.

Image credits: stokesandandgravel, ProjectManhattan, Rune Mathisen, ProGreenGrass