Just over a year ago, on April 23th 2015, DNA Green Group changed its name to Dümmen Orange. Well-known names such as Lex+, Bartels, Terra Nigra, Dümmen Group, Agribio China, Agribio Colombia, Oro, PLA as well as the production locations changed their name to Dümmen Orange immediately. Rijnplant, Ecke, Oglevee, Red Fox, Fides, Japan Agribion and Barberet & Blanc, recently became Dümmen Orange as well. Since its name change, the new company has increased in size by taking over more breeding companies, like Florexpo and Wander Tuinier. "Becoming a large company is a result, not our goal. The establishment of Dümmen Orange offers opportunities for the entire chain and even leaves room for other parties to thrive as well", says Veenman.
Ringo Veenman at the IFTEX in Nairobi, Kenya.
Acceptance new name
According to Veenman, it is interesting to see how rapidly the new name of the company has been accepted in the market. "Initially, we thought it would take about 2-5 years until everyone would be familiar with the name", he says. "And actually, for the growers not that much has changed as they still deal with the same people", he adds. In general, Dümmen Orange is pleased with this quick adoption, also from other breeders. "Everyone in this sector has to deal with a high level of competition and fortunately we are all getting along well with each other."
Chain matchmaking
"We are a market driven company and retailers have an increasing interest in knowing all parties in their supply chain. So, it needs to be more transparent, and therefore investments in sustainability and Integrated Pest Management are becoming increasingly important. This becomes more feasible when you are a larger company. We want to connect every link in the chain from the grower till the retail, Matchmaking, as we call it."
Besides that, retailers always want to stay ahead of the competition. So in order to support the retailers in achieving these goals Dümmen Orange also has category managers. "They advice the retailers in designing an attractive shelf with a good assortment of plants and flowers", says Veenman. In general, they mainly deal with the large parties.”.
One of the trial locations of Dümmen Orange in the Netherlands. Pictures taken during the FlowerTrials 2016.
Marker Assisted Breeding
In order to present interesting products to retail partners, Dümmen Orange is currently investing in marker assisted breeding. "In the vegetable sector, they have been using it for about a decade or so, but in the ornamental sector it is more complex because there are so many crops", says Veenman. Since 2011, the breeding company is monitoring their genetics. It enables us to work more efficiently as we can accelerate the process of breeding and increase the success rate. We do not have to force all the seedlings into flower anymore", he explains.
For more information
Dümmen Orange
Ringo Veenman
Email: r.veenman@dummenorange.com
www.dummenorange.com