Siegfried van Bunnik, together with his brother Bjorn and a loyal team of colleagues, runs the family business Bunnik Vriesea's. On an area of 75,000m2 and with about 40 personnel, thousands of plants are sent out every day. Bjorn is responsible for the technical cultivation side and Siegfried is responsible for the financial picture. In addition, the sales organisation Bromelia Specialist attached to Bunnik Vriesea's is located at the same location in De Kwakel, the Netherlands. For questions about the market, the cultivation and developments in the world of bromelias, we are in the right place.
Siegfried van Bunnik between the plants
Market
Bromelias are cheerful, colorful plants. However, this cannot be said of the market. Van Bunnik: "I am an optimist, I have the best job in the world and I have faith in the future. But from the viewpoint of the businessman, there is cause for concern. Firstly, the market today is more unpredictable than it was 10 to 15 years ago. In the past, you could produce as much as you wanted, now the client is a lot more critical, he orders later and it is the consumer who drives the entire process. In addition, the market does not grow and over the last 5 to 6 years, the market even shrunk. And then the prices... But," he continues, "the real problem lies elsewhere. People are spending their money differently. They have so much choice: from other plants, certainly, but you should also look wider. The spending pattern is changing. People are going on holiday more often, for example, they are always on the move, they go out for a dinner more often - to put it bluntly: there are an endless number of alternatives."
A look at the business: the processing space, the potting machine and in between the trolleys ready for departure.
Consumer focused
The big question is: how do you get consumers or win them back? What does the consumer want and when you know that, how do you translate that into a cultivation programme? In order to answer these questions, Bromelia Specialist has split the market into 6 different consumer types and is trying to reach each group individually. "Take for example an older couple with classic and stylish tastes whose children move out and aren't short of money. This lifestyle is completely different than that of a young and trendy couple with children of school-age, busy busy busy, sports, work and no free time. They are interested in different things and so you need to approach them differently."
Bromelia Specialist has made a video for each group to show the specific feel for each category. Below are two videos that use the examples from above.
The other videos can be seen on the website of Bromelia Specialist
Bromelia Specialist
Bunnik Vriesea's is closely affiliated with Bromelia Specialist. Van Bunnik: We want the client to earn money with our product, therefore we also provide advice and client-specific proposals (our account managers have extensive knowledge of category management) and we try to provide as much added value as possible. Above all, there is a lot of knowledge and skill within the organisation, which has advantages for both producers and clients."
For more information:
Bunnik Vriesea’s/Bromelia Specialist
Siegfried Bunnik
Achterweg 11
1424 PN De Kwakel
T: +31 881262333
M: +31 6 21804428
E: siegfriedbunnik@bromeliaspecialist.nl
www.bromeliaspecialist.nl
Bunnik Vriesea’s/Bromelia Specialist
Siegfried Bunnik
Achterweg 11
1424 PN De Kwakel
T: +31 881262333
M: +31 6 21804428
E: siegfriedbunnik@bromeliaspecialist.nl
www.bromeliaspecialist.nl