Building business and people with passion

About a decade after Ken and Linda Herrill started United Plant Growers — UPG for short — a new face hit the scene. Early photos of the two-employee, one-truck California company show their son, Zach, overseeing plant deliveries from his car seat. Now UPG’s CEO, Zach leads the company with ever-expanding passions for building business and empowering his teams.

What started as a 1980s backyard plant brokerage has segued into a far-reaching business that spans imports, growing operations and innovative live goods production, with a healthy emphasis on customized retail-ready potted tropicals. Big-box retailers account for 95% of company sales.

Still 100% privately owned and devoted to core principles of quality, value and customer service, UPG operates three distribution centers, four growing locations and 30 trucks. In the last decade, employees increased from 25 to 250, as an eight-fold revenue increase fueled growth. At its heart, Zach keeps listening, learning and inspiring as he leads UPG to new heights.

Early entrepreneurship and opportunity

Young Zach inherited a strong business spirit from his parents, whom he describes as “hippie entrepreneurs” back then. His earliest memory of making money himself involved chickens he raised in a backyard coop. His teens brought a t-shirt printing business with a friend. Then he got involved in extreme sports, specifically freestyle motocross. He was good enough to consider going pro — until a serious accident at 18 changed his path.

Zach’s love for business then drew him to business school, but that wasn’t destined to last. He was traveling in Asia and visited a business associate of his parents in Bangkok. Negotiating pottery prices in a jungle through a translator, Zach was stunned to realize the chasm between Thailand prices and what it could bring at retail. He dropped out of school and started an import business.

As his import company made money, his thoughts turned to UPG. “I saw a huge opportunity, not just with importing and going direct to the source in China or Thailand for pottery, but also for plants, for live goods,” he recalls. “At that time, there wasn't a lot of strong competition in California for houseplant suppliers. I just saw a big opportunity there, not only with the imports but also the finished side, supplying retailers. There seemed to be a gap of supply there.”

That was 2010, and Zach was 20 years old. He returned to the family business, still operating out of his parents’ house. “For 13 years, I've really just been 100% focused on building the company,” he says. The official title of CEO came in 2019, followed by 33% ownership of the company in 2020. “I was really excited about having some ownership in it,” he remembers. “Then, of course, COVID happened.”

Building business through challenges

When COVID hit, Zach had already overcome a major challenge to UPG’s growth: His parents had built a solid multimillion-dollar company. Having a bigger business wasn’t part of their dream. “They were very happy having 25 employees,” Zach says.

The difference in perspective wasn’t easily bridged. “I knew we needed to get bigger trucks. I knew we needed to shift to semis and larger trucks and a racking system. I knew we needed to use production lines and conveyor belts. All that takes a lot of investment,” Zach says.

It took about eight years for his parents to embrace his vision and see results.

By 2020, UPG was better prepared than most. Zach had strengthened its supply chain and its business with Home Depot and IKEA, which both flourished during COVID. As other businesses struggled and closed, UPG was positioned to buy. Acquisitions expanded its customer base to include Trader Joe’s, Costco and Sprouts. Business doubled in six months.

In his years at UPG — the last five on overdrive — Zach has restructured and redefined how it’s run. The company operates three separate distribution centers: one for Home Depot, one for IKEA and a “grocery” distribution center servicing Costco, Trader Joe’s and Sprouts. A full UPG merchandising team is on-site in Home Depot stores every single day. UPG’s four growing locations combine for roughly 65 acres, with about a million square feet of controlled growing environment.

Zach’s idea of Saturday fun is planning and drawing up new ideas. “I love building things, so we're constantly doing new conveyor lines, new production lines, new docks and greenhouses, making things more efficient,” he says. “Having that concept and then seeing it come to fruition is always really fun.”

He also likes to cook, works out multiple times a day — and takes ice baths, which he recommends wholeheartedly for focus.

Listening, learning and leading

Several mentors played significant roles in Zach’s journey, including Home Depot Senior Merchant Brian Parker. “People know him as the one of the toughest buyers in the industry,” Zach shares. “He's taught me a ton about the retail side, and I've learned so much from him about consumers, what retailers are looking for and how to present to them. He’s been instrumental in our growth.”

Parker himself remembers starting in the horticulture business 40-plus years ago, watering plants in a Kmart garden center. Like those who took him under their wings, he felt moved do the same for Zach. With so few young people following their parents into the horticulture industry, Parker was “thrilled” when Zach took over UPG — and he was confident in his success.

As a vendor and a leader, Parker says, listening differentiates Zach. “He got a very good education from his father on the business, but his number one priority was listening to his customer — which was me,” Parker says. As a result, Home Depot quadrupled its UPG business the last 10 years.

“More than anything else, Zach listens. He understands he has a lot to learn, but he does have a vision,” Parker says. “For the last four years, he was very strategic in how he grew that business. He knows that if you can't take care of the business, don't do it. That said, he's still willing to take risks. He's a risk taker, which is what's going to make him successful in the long run.”

Zach’s readiness to listen extends to his teams. Wholesale sales manager Traci Kelemen joined UPG three years ago, after four decades in floral and potted plant sales and marketing. In her career, she’s experienced leaders and companies where suggestions and questions are quickly shut down. But not here.

“Zach is always looking to improve. You bring something up and it's like ‘Let's explore that idea.’ It's a whole different attitude,” Kelemen says. “He’s been in the industry most of his life, but still has that passion to make things different or innovative. It’s easy to say, ‘Been there, done that.’ But he continues to try to find new ways of making it better.”

Building people and teams

Zach’s strategy for building people echoes his business strategy. “We just built a really good team behind me over the last 10 years. We've tried to find the right people, get the right people on the bus, and all go the same direction,” he says. Building top-functioning teams around revenue channels — a Home Depot team, an Ikea team, a grocery team — is key.

Parker suggests anyone can grow, broker and sell plants — the difference is service. “Zach leads a group of service associates that just are remarkable. They do such a great job for our stores, that's what separates UPG apart,” he says. “To be able to lead that group is pretty incredible. He's surrounded himself with the right people, which is a sign of a good leader.” He also credits Zach with being at the forefront of industry trends, like indoor tropicals.

“Kelemen says Zach’s “refreshing” leadership style creates an atmosphere where creativity and innovation thrive: “He's such a free spirit in a way. He's managing, but he's not pinning you down and directing you. He knows what needs to be done. He tells you what he needs from you to make that happen. And then he allows you to do it.”

An avid reading habit fuels many of Zach’s ideas. He’s a big believer in easily measurable metrics for building business and people — one reason for separate distribution centers with dedicated personnel. As he’s assimilated knowledge from business leaders and mentors, he’s designed a framework of performance indicators that allow people and creativity to grow and flow.

UPG is a 43-year-old business with a startup mentality. Most of Zach’s team is in their mid-thirties and shares his excitement for the company’s rocket ride. “We do things quickly, we start projects, we build software, build the programs, innovate wherever we can,” he says.

As an example, when UPG’s top-selling hydrangeas also saw the highest markdowns, they developed a new self-watering pot. And it’s not unusual to see this “hands-on, every single day” leader making the rounds, checking self-watering wicks or just helping clean soil off pots on the line.

Looking forward

As Zach reflects on his mentors, he hopes he’s seen as a mentor, too. Growth changed his perspective. “All of a sudden, we have a fairly good-size business and all these people working for us and a lot of customers,” he says. “With separating all these divisions, I have a lot of younger people I’m [nurturing] to be the next executive member of the team.”

Zach takes real happiness in seeing employees grow. “You can see that they’re going to be something, then they flower into this amazing individual with so many skills,” he says. Finding UPG’s next leaders is a priority for Zach and his three-member core executive team.

He says freedom to have a tangible impact on the business is essential in attracting young, creative, smart people. “Most people, at least strong leaders, don't want to come in and have to work within a rigid framework all the time,” he says. “To me, that's not exciting.”

Vertical integration is integral to Zach’s plans. “We're on this path of vertical integration from the tissue culture all the way down to the finished product with a ceramic pot on it. We're trying to control every part of the supply chain,” he says. “By doing that, we can offer a lot of value and give the customer the whole product at extremely competitive prices.” Goals include a UPG tissue culture lab and cutting farms at growing locations.

“There’s so much opportunity out there,” Zach says, pointing to finished product and growing. “But there's also a lot of opportunity to present a better product and a more unique product to the customer.” That includes merchandizing and marketing opportunities that integrate internet and in-store customer experiences.

Parker expects Zach will always lead with distinction — backed by humility, honesty and lack of pretension. “Zach’s about as honest they come in the business,” he says. “… When you can deal with a handshake, and you know you're dealing with somebody that's honestly going to have your best interest and your customers best interests at heart, it's an honor to do business with them.” 

Jolene Hansen is a freelance writer specializing in the horticulture and CEA industries. Reach her at jolene@jolenehansen.com.