Although this isn’t an easy year, Veiling Holambra is still managing to increase its turnover by around 11%. This result is mostly thanks to the potted plants. With green plants as the current bestseller. And there are opportunities for further growth. We’d like to do more to inform consumers about the positive health effects of green plants at home and in the office. We’re planning shop floor campaigns for the coming year.
Perhaps you’ve heard the story of a shoe manufacturer who wanted to export to a faraway place. He decided to conduct some market research. Two months later, he received the research report which concluded that unfortunately, export opportunities were non-existent, as everyone in this country went around barefoot.
A few years later, the entrepreneur asked a different market research agency to conduct another study. Their results were extremely hopeful: plenty of opportunities for your export plans, as everyone in this country is still going around barefoot!
This story reminds me of the Brazilian flower industry a few years ago. Flowers were mostly used for decoration. Buying flowers for personal use was uncommon. On top of that, the financial and political crisis had a negative impact on the market for decorations.
We concluded that the only way to improve the situation was by stimulating the idea of buying flowers for personal use! The ideal channel for communicating this message was the retail channel. The last couple of years, more and more retailers adapted a professional approach towards plant sales and we tried to stimulate flower sales as well.
In this context, new packaging and display furniture were designed, the “Poetic Flowers” label was launched, and we defined the requirements that participating growers had to adhere to.
One important condition was a proper post-harvest treatment. Consumers should be able to enjoy their flowers for at least a week. It turns out that that isn’t as easy as it may sound. Unfortunately, to save a few cents, some growers opt for a homemade substance instead of a registered and proven product. Step by step, these aspects are addressed, gradually improving sales results!
Yesterday, I spoke with an alstroemeria grower who distributes 50% of his produce under the “Poetic Flowers” label. A few more years and you’ll no longer see anyone barefoot over here anymore!
André van Kruijssen,
CEO Veiling Holambra
