Jakob Christensen at the Royal FloraHolland Seasonal Trade Fair 2017 in Naaldwijk, the Netherlands.
Niche product
The aeschynanthus is also known as the lipstick plant. It is a niche product and Christensen is one of the few growers of this product in Europe. "There is one grower in The Netherlands, Bert Schouten, who is growing the aeschynanthus as a hanging plant. We grow it as a table plant, so we are not each others competitors." It does not seem to be an easy plant to grow. "Many have tried to grow it, but find it very difficult to let the plant flower. Before my wife and I took over the company 12 years ago, this company was already specialized in the cultivation of aeschynanthus since the 60's, so quite some years of experience."
Demand stabilized
According to Christensen, the demand is not as high as it used to be, but he is pleased that it seems to be stable at the moment. "About five years ago, the demand started to decrease, but fortunately stabilized over the last two years. This season has been better compared to last season, but this is mainly because of the 10 percent increase in price."
Christensen, however is not sure about the reason for this price increase. According to him, several factors could have influenced the price. "This year, we have put our products on the market with a new sleeve, which could be one reason. Other reasons like old products are becoming more popular, more people seem to really buy a niche product nowadays, florists shops focused on tropical plants this year, and the decrease in production of plants all over Europe, might all have had an influence."
Expansion plans?
Christensen is growing the plant in a 25,000 m2 greenhouse of which 10,000 m2 is solely dedicated to the aeschynanthus. He grows three varieties of flowering aeschynanthus, one for the winter period and two that will be sold during summer and autumn, and supplies green aeschynanthus year round. Annually, 250,000 aeschynanthus are being produced, of which about 150,000 are being sold in the first quarter of the year. Christensen is pleased with this year's results, but does not have big plans to expand the production in the future. "It is better to produce smaller amounts and sell them for good prices than flooding the market, which will probably only decrease the prices."
For more information:
Fashion Flowers
Jakob Christensen
Email: jc@fashionflowers.dk
www.fashionflowers.dk