Floréac is celebrating its 70th birthday. In order to honour this moment we gathered some of our long-standing partners to reflect on the joint development of our cooperation, across generations. To mark the occasion, you can also find their special celebration offer in our 70 Years – 70 Days of Deals promotion! Join us for this one-of-a-kind celebration—you’ll love being part of it!
Hoogeveen Plants aims to be the world’s leading garden plant producer.
Through groundbreaking innovations in cultivation, we produce the most sustainable garden plants in quantity. With the best varieties and excellent marketing, we bring our plants to every outdoor spot and contribute to a greener world. This divided into 5 product groups: Up-climbers Climbing Plants, Tasty Green Organic Fruit, Elegrass bamboo-grass-ferns, Hello Helleborus and Hello Agapanthus. We do not do this alone, but with a close-knit team, loyal suppliers and together with our customers.
What can you tell us about the pioneering period at the beginning of working with Floréac?
Siem Hoogeveen: Our first experience was visiting the open-door days at the Floréac site. This must have been in the early 1990s. Here, the management gave a presentation and emphasised cooperation with growers. What struck us in the relationship with Floréac was the sincerity and politeness to cooperate.
How many generations does this go back in your company’s history? Siem Hoogeveen: This goes back to the 1st generation, some 35 years ago.
Is there a (funny) anecdote you can tell about our collaboration?
Siem Hoogeveen: Our company was visited by the buyer of garden plants Ivo Bossuyt after our visits to Floréac. We had a new greenhouse built at the time and Ivo spoke the words: “what a clean greenhouse you have at your disposal”. At first we didn’t understand what Ivo meant so that needed explanation. These words were often repeated with some hilarity when we met again.
How has the business relationship developed over the years?
Tim Sonneveld: Over the years, we have continued to work more closely together on many different customers and you came to our garden during house fairs. With Dobbies, for instance, we have grown from almost nothing to now a very broad package that evolves every year. As a result, we are building together towards a nice solid package for the end customer.
Contact with Floréac buyers and sellers is always smooth and good too. We make no bones about it, and tell each other exactly what we need!