Colombian nursery Plazoleta Flowers has been selling under the brand Perfection for ten years now. What was introduced to compete with the local alstroemeria on the Canadian market, developed into a flower brand that’s now distributed worldwide. Russia has become the most important market for it. “Florists in Russia know even better than us, what the requirements are for Perfection.”
It all started when the Bazzani family, owners of Plazoleta Flowers, felt it was hard to compete with Canadian alstroemeria. Their flower farm is located near capital city Bogotá and was founded by Francisco Bazzani in 1985. After a while, they discovered some differences between Canadian alstroemeria and Colombian alstroemeria. The Canadian alstroemeria was of very high quality during the season, but less so during the rest of the year because of the changing climate in the North American country. Colombian alstroemeria is available throughout the year, with the same, high quality all 52 weeks of the year. But during the Canadian season, the Canadian alstroemeria continued to be a fierce competitor.
That’s why Plazoleta Flowers launched their brand Perfection, which guarantees top quality alstroemeria. At the moment, there are four more alstroemeria growers who sell under the brand, three in Colombia and one in Ecuador. Plazoleta is licensee and the only grower who also sells other types of flowers under the brand, like snapdragon, statice and solidago. In addition, Plazoleta grows limonium and leucadendron.
Strict requirements
The flowers that are sold under the Perfection label need to meet very strict requirements. And that already starts with the choice of plant material, is what we learned during a recent visit to Plazoleta’s greenhouses. We watched how the flowers were dried in the processing area with a ventilator. It means that they lose moisture and weight, but the drying process enhances the quality.
After drying, the flowers are brought to the left part of the processing area for selection and sorting and then to the right part for packaging. Sorters divide the flowers over three different classes. The best flowers are sold under the Perfection label, the others as Select or Fancy.
The flowers are checked for insects under lamps over a white table. The tops are covered with protective netting, after which the flowers are wrapped in sleeves. They’re subsequently left in water with flower food for four hours, before they’re packed in boxes.
The process at the various nurseries who sell under the Perfection label is inspected by an independent party. Both cultivation and processing are checked. If a company fails to meet the requirements, they lose their Perfection license.
Russia important market
Plazoleta sells 40% of their total production of alstroemeria, snapdragon, statice and solidago under the Perfection label. The buyers are wholesalers, who sell the flowers on to florists. Commercial manager Catalina Guacaneme explained that Russia is an important market for Perfection. About 30 to 35% of all Perfection flowers end up in Russia. “Florists in Russia know even better than us, what the requirements are for Perfection.”
Other important markets after Russia are Spain, Italy, England, Canada and the USA. Overall, the most important destinations are the USA and Canada. Followed by Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, England and Europe. Guacaneme said that sales to China are also increasing.
Plazoleta is doing well, according to Guacaneme. They’ve had good results the last couple of years. This year they experienced some problems with transport because of the hurricanes and the strike at Avianca airways. They had to throw away flowers in the beginning of September. Despite all that, Guacaneme feels that this year is a good year, too.
Female workers
A characteristic feature of Plazoleta is that the majority of the 200 employees are women (65%) and most of those are single mums. The farm accommodates their needs, for example in the form of the on-site crèche for the children of employees as well as for children who live in the area. Working on the farm suits the women’s lifestyles, they can start early, they’re picked up and dropped off by a coach, and they finish early in the afternoon. Bazzani refers to the women as ‘great workers’. “We love to work with women. They take care of our flowers.
Company: Plazoleta
Location: just outside Bogotá, Colombia
Owner: Francisco Bazzani
Crops: alstroemeria (5ha), statice (5ha), limonium (6ha), snapdragon (3ha), leucadendron, solidago
