Not betting on one horse

What is your speciality?
"We grow year-round 500 hardy plants and have all year round production of visual plants. At the moment, we have hellebores in the range, for example. We supply garden centres, wholesalers, as well as landscapers."

Are you looking for new customers at Florall?
"It is always good to expand your customer base and not bet on one horse. Moreover, we are expanding our product range and want to take up some additional container field in the coming years. The land has already been bought. We currently have 3 hectares, including 5,000 metres of greenhouse. The expansion is also to have some more space for plants, so that we can space them further apart and create a bushier plant."

Is the market so good that you are thinking of expanding?
"Since the corona pandemic it has been going very well, although of course you don't know for how lan that is. Even now there is still a lot of demand. That has the advantage that you don't have to push your sales and can set the price more easily yourself."

Do you have succession? 
"It looks like my daughter Celine (23) wants to join the business. She has the passion for plants. She is currently suturing for industrial engineer. It is possible that she could roll into the business after her studies. She is already helping out during the holidays. My son Brecht (26) is an ekletrician. If necessary, he also likes to lend a hand, but has no ambition to continue the business."

What else do you do in terms of marketing?
"We also started social media about two years ago, with instagram. I post a message on there twice a week. Of new plants or, for example, a trade fair participation in Waregem. We have 600 followers, including many garden centres. We also created a new website last year. Every month, we put a plant in the spotlight."

What do you do in your spare time?
"I am quite fanatical with Markant, which is an association for enterprising women. We have 120 members in Zwevezele, where I come from. We organise monthly activities such as company visits and lectures. Last one, for instance, we had a lecture on cybercrime. Besides, I can also enjoy baking and cooking when the time is there."

Text and image: Jerom Rozendaal