Slogans are often a bit cheesy, but ‘Floritec-Breeding by design’ just happens to have substance. "It is our way of working," says Harry Boers, sales and product manager at the breeder, "we do the breeding, but the design we work on with the customer." The latest example is the Santini Maverick Sunny, an exclusive production by Floritec and Santini nursery's Richard van Schie. The variety has since a few weeks ago been available commercially and on the clock.
Richard van Schie (third from the left) with his team and - of course - the Santini Maverick Sunny
"The variety has good cultivation characteristics, the color and contrast are beautiful, the shelf life is excellent and it also matches nicely with our other varieties," says Richard. “It fits well in our schedule, so to speak. In addition, I find it significantly better than the other yellow varieties on the market and I am convinced that we will see that reflected in sales."
They started with 10,000 stems per week, in week 15 this will be increased to 35,000. That is to give the product time to build brand awareness, make the market familiar with it, visit the trade and deliver show boxes to their customers. It is also a matter of respecting the market balance, as Richard knows. It can be quite sensitive. “We started with santinis almost 20 years ago and then the market was still small. In the meantime that is of course different, because santini has become a serious product. As growers, we have been on 45-50 hectares of production for a long time and that worked well. When we exceeded that, you immediately saw the prices fall. That went up and down for years, but it has risen in recent years. We are now on 65-70 hectares and every year we see a slight growth."
Top of the market
Richard and Floritec have been working together for some time. One of the best known and most recent examples is the Santini Rossi. “It is important to me that I always stay at the top of the market. I want to grow the assortment that is in demand and desired and of course I want to be one of the best. Quality is paramount. That is why naturally I work with Floritec, but we also invest in making our operation more sustainable. For example, about five years ago we have covered the roof of the warehouse with solar panels and we are looking at paper instead of plastic covers. Because quality is also sustainable. But the most important thing remains the product, and in order to be able to guarantee optimal quality during winter, we also invested in more lighting last year. I dare say that among the Santini growers I am one of those who use lighting the most.”
Apart from the Rossi, which mainly goes to Russia, the assortment finds its way to all neighboring countries. France, Germany, the UK and also Poland in particular are buying a major part. Located at the Papenlaan in Monster, where Richard has been based for 15 years already, the 3-hectare size garden produces 250,000-300,000 stems every week. The Maverick Sunny will be part of the production from now on and Richard is looking forward to the sunny future of the variety.
For more information:
Floritec Breeding
Van Hemessenkade 7
2481 BG Woubrugge
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0) 172 518 963
F: +31 (0) 172 517 064
E: info@floritec.eu
www.floritec.eu
Richard van Schie
Papenlaan 2
2681 LL Monster
The Netherlands
M: +31 (0)6 - 54 35 37 73
E: info@schie-chrysant.nl
www.schie-chrysant.nl