Jesper Slot of 3kanten with Hans Gammelgaard of Jiffy at the Nordic Flower Expo in Malmö, Sweden.
Differentiation needed
According to Slot, the period of selling the spring plants is getting shorter and the peaks are getting higher. "More and more growers, including ourselves, are producing their plants on a contract basis with retailers, this provides them with security. As retailers often have a campaign planned in a certain week or weeks, the growers need to speed up their production to be able to deliver finished plants at that time. Consequently, more plants will be sold during this short period. As a consequence, the competition is fierce. Then, not only the price, but the way in which growers decide to differentiate themselves from the competition becomes increasingly important," says Slot.
"As a grower, we know that the competition for spring plants is high. Fortunately, one of the co-owners in 3kanten is also the owner of the breeding company Sunny, we are always involved in the breeding of Ostespermums and the production of cuttings and young plants. With this cooperation we have the opportunity to track the entire process of the plant and adjust the plant to our growing needs and the demand of the market. As a grower, this enables us to differentiate our plants from the competition," he says.
Production location in Vietnam.
Expand young plant production
Next to the production of finished plants, 3kanten also supplies cuttings and young plants to other growers worldwide. "We started with producing cuttings for Sunny on a small scale in Denmark. As we noticed an increasing demand for our cuttings and service - which is very flexible and customized - we decided to expand this young plant department," says Slot. In 2007, they started to grow young plants in Vietnam, at Dalat Hasfarm. "The favourable climatic conditions over there provide the basis for the optimal production of unrooted cuttings and young plants of Osteospermum, and the geographical location provides good logistics for worldwide sales and distribution," he says. Over the years, they extended their cutting and young plant assortment with Thumbelina Lavandula from the New Zealand breeder Kiwiflor, the Percussion Argyranthemums of the German breeder Heuger and the Adorable Carnation of the breeder Snow Brand Seed. Currently, these cuttings and young plants are being grown in a 1,3 ha sized greenhouse in Vietnam.
Advantage of small company
"Even though we are expanding the young plant assortment in Vietnam, we are still a relatively small company, which we consider an advantage," says Slot. "We just have a few crops we propagate, so we are very specialized. Besides, that, we are very flexible and close to our customers, which enables us to offer the growers customized solutions. Especially now, when looking at the current trends, these customized solutions are becoming increasingly important. As increasingly more growers are producing their plants on a contract basis, and therefore need to finish their plants all at once, a proper production plan is required. We are able to support them in making such a plan," he says.
Future plans
In the future, 3kanten is planning to expand their young plant and cutting assortment. "Currently, we mainly produce young plants and cuttings of spring plants and would like to expand this assortment with other seasonal plants so that we can supply growers all year round. Besides that, we will keep investing in our service. Our priority is that our customers earn money, because, if they do, we do," says Slot.
IPM Essen
3Kanten will be present at the IPM Essen in Germany, which will be held from January 26 -29. Their booth can be visited at Hall 5, booth number C26.
For more information
Gartneriet 3kanten A/S
Jesper Slot
T: +45 22 22 14 82
Email: [email protected]
www.3kanten.dk
