Ukrainians pleased with Kenyan quality

'Good quality roses with large head sizes are grown in Ecuador.' This has been the common perception in Ukraine for many years. However it now seems to change. According to Oksana Matias of Subati Group, a Kenyan rose grower, Ukrainians are now noticing the beauty and quality of Kenyan roses.

At the Flower Expo Ukraine, that took place last week, many Ukrainian florists were surprised by the roses of Subati Group. "They could not believe these large head flowers were grown in Kenya. They always thought that these kind of roses were grown in South American countries like Colombia and Ecuador, but they are now seeing that Kenya can grow large head sizes too."

Oksana Matias at the Flower Expo Ukraine 2017.

Also in Russia, where they used to have the same common perception about roses, the buyers were amazed by the quality and size of these Kenyan flowers. "At the Flower Expo in Moscow, that took place in September 2016, we met a lot of potential clients. At that time, the Ecuadorians had some difficulties with supplying the flowers as the cold weather conditions reduced their production volumes. For this reason, the buyers reached out to us. As some could not believe that the quality would reach the level of South American flowers, we sent some test shipments first. With these shipments, we were able to persuade them. It really increased our client list in Russia."

On top of that, the logistical costs regarding flower shipments from Kenyan to Russia and Ukraine decreased. The costs used to be higher than that of the South American shipments, but are now more or less the same. "It enables us to be more competitive on price", says Matias.

However, even though, this decrease in logistical costs, imported products are still expensive for the Ukrainians and Russians, due to low value of the hryvnia and ruble. "Imported flowers are more expensive, so they need to be different from the flowers that are already in the market and therefore make the consumers willing to pay for it. For this reason, we decided to put many new varieties on display at the Flower Expo Ukraine. The florists are always searching for novelties and by putting novelties on display, we hoped to attract their attention. And fortunately, we did."

Ukraine is not a big market for Subati Group, but it is an important market. "We want to have a worldwide presence, so in many countries, we would like to have a couple of clients. In this way, the Subati brand is present and available all over the world."

For more information
Subati Group
Oksana Matias
Email: oksana@subatigroup.com
www.subatigroup.com