For the fourth time, a few orchid growers from the Bleiswijk region in the Netherlands organized the Orchid Days, two weeks ago. At De Vreede Holland - but also at Pannekoek Orchideeën, Cympha and Stolk Flora – all the doors were opened for visitors. "It is primarily the intention that our contacts will drop by: a chance for us to chat with them and to think about how we bring over our products. Therefore, we have also invited specific people, particularly exporters and suppliers, but also the end consumer," says Annelene Weerheim, account manager at the business.
Annelene Weerheim and Lenhard van Ballegooijen.
At De Vreede Holland, 8 main varieties are cultivated on an area of 8 hectares. The varieties are all named after international cities - Buenos Aires, Cali, Jena, Manchester, Mukalla, Nairobi, Pompei, Venice – and thus the name of the collection is GO Global Orchids. "This is one of the strengths of our business," says director Lenhard van Bellegooijen. "Also, all our orchids come in a pot size of 9 cm. In this size, sometimes called the table model, we are the largest supplier on the market."
Business is going well. There is a good return and the demand exceeds supply. Therefore, De Vreede Holland have far-reaching plans to expand. But this doesn't distract them from the fact that De Vreede also has to fight to keep the prices up. "I don't believe that the market is saturated," says Van Ballegooijen, "but we need to stay sharp on quality, added value, innovation and cost efficiency."
Première
The theme this year is ‘Première’ and every grower is showing off their newest concepts. De Vreede Holland believes in added value and is therefore presenting a few new concepts in this area, such as trendy seasonal colors, ceramic lines, packaging, structures and new shapes. Furthermore, the business has fixed spring/summer and autumn/winter lines and specials for holidays such as Mother's Day.
The 'warehouse', where Orchid Days is taking place
For more information:
De Vreede Orchideeën B.V.
Krokussenweg 15
2665 ND Bleiswijk
T: +31(0)10-521 63 93
F: +31(0)10-522 04 48
Lenhard van Ballegooijen
E: lenhard@devreedeholland.nl
Annelene Weerheim
E: annelene@devreedeholland.nl
www.globalorchids.nl