Column by chair of FPC Flowering Plants: don't lose sight of the niche
June 24, 2023
For 12 years (with a few breaks), Chris Kester has been the chair of the FPC Flowering Plants. He combines that position with his work at family company Laguna Plants. In his spare time, you’ll find this sporty grower on the tennis court or you might just catch a glimpse of him whizzing past on his bike.
A love of the floriculture sector and a willingness to participate and contribute ideas. Those were my motives for becoming a member – I estimate about 12 years ago – of the FPC Flowering Plants. It broadens my field of knowledge, is extremely educational and gives me the opportunity to think and talk about issues that are important to our product group and sector.
The FPC does a lot. And that is perhaps unsurprising, as our product group has a large, diverse membership. For example, we focus on sustainability and help growers obtain the necessary certificates in that area. We also recently published a list of products that have disappeared from Royal FloraHolland's assortment in recent years. We hope to point out an opportunity for other growers and say “this is where you can specialise, so who will take up the gauntlet?”
Make sure the customer has something to choose from
We have a broad assortment at Laguna Plants. Besides Medinilla, we also grow Brugmansia and carnivorous plants. And we offer a variety of ever-changing seasonal products: from green plants to bloomers in cheerful colours. That is perhaps one of the most important business lessons I have learnt
over the past few years: make sure you have a wide assortment of products, so that the customer has something to choose from when they come to you.
This is a lesson that – if you ask me as an entrepreneur and member of the cooperative – does not only apply to my company. I think as an auction we should equally cherish our wide assortment. This is what makes us interesting to buyers. They should not only be able to find all varieties, sizes and quality levels of the most obvious plants and flowers. No, we also want to surprise and delight our customers as an auction with all the new things they come across. Then we will be able to remain truly relevant.
Cherish the exclusive
In that sense, I am very happy with Floriday, apart from the teething problems. I think we have a lot of potential with this online platform, combined with our varied, wide supply of all growers together. This is true for buyers – if all goes well, the auction will remain attractive enough to continue as a primary trade channel as a result of Floriday – but also for growers. If we get it right, there will no longer be any doubt about whether you want to become a member of the cooperative thanks to Floriday. It helps then if we also finally take a decision about a new membership model. And it would be nice if we could highlight more exclusive or niche products at Floriday.
So my appeal to you is: cherish the big as well as the small plants. Pay attention to the conventional, but also the exclusive. In that way, we will definitely be able to maintain the clout we have had for more than a hundred years.
A love of the floriculture sector and a willingness to participate and contribute ideas. Those were my motives for becoming a member – I estimate about 12 years ago – of the FPC Flowering Plants. It broadens my field of knowledge, is extremely educational and gives me the opportunity to think and talk about issues that are important to our product group and sector.
The FPC does a lot. And that is perhaps unsurprising, as our product group has a large, diverse membership. For example, we focus on sustainability and help growers obtain the necessary certificates in that area. We also recently published a list of products that have disappeared from Royal FloraHolland's assortment in recent years. We hope to point out an opportunity for other growers and say “this is where you can specialise, so who will take up the gauntlet?”
Make sure the customer has something to choose from
We have a broad assortment at Laguna Plants. Besides Medinilla, we also grow Brugmansia and carnivorous plants. And we offer a variety of ever-changing seasonal products: from green plants to bloomers in cheerful colours. That is perhaps one of the most important business lessons I have learnt
over the past few years: make sure you have a wide assortment of products, so that the customer has something to choose from when they come to you.
This is a lesson that – if you ask me as an entrepreneur and member of the cooperative – does not only apply to my company. I think as an auction we should equally cherish our wide assortment. This is what makes us interesting to buyers. They should not only be able to find all varieties, sizes and quality levels of the most obvious plants and flowers. No, we also want to surprise and delight our customers as an auction with all the new things they come across. Then we will be able to remain truly relevant.
Cherish the exclusive
In that sense, I am very happy with Floriday, apart from the teething problems. I think we have a lot of potential with this online platform, combined with our varied, wide supply of all growers together. This is true for buyers – if all goes well, the auction will remain attractive enough to continue as a primary trade channel as a result of Floriday – but also for growers. If we get it right, there will no longer be any doubt about whether you want to become a member of the cooperative thanks to Floriday. It helps then if we also finally take a decision about a new membership model. And it would be nice if we could highlight more exclusive or niche products at Floriday.
So my appeal to you is: cherish the big as well as the small plants. Pay attention to the conventional, but also the exclusive. In that way, we will definitely be able to maintain the clout we have had for more than a hundred years.
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