Spain: “The plant quality needs to be in line with the increased prices”

“The challenge is to ensure that the quality of the plant is in line with the price that is demanded, as the costs have been undergoing significant increases,” says Marco Lorenzi, co-founder of the Spanish plant distributor Poleplants. Together with their partnering growers, they produce over 3.000.000 plants a year, which are for the domestic market as well as the international market. In this article, Lorenzi comments on the pandemic being an unexpected marketing campaign, how the plant prices need to be justifiable toward the customer, and the company’s policy on expansions.


Marco Lorenzi  

An unexpected marketing campaign
According to Lorenzi, the increasing demand for their plants was already happening before the pandemic. “From around 2016 onwards, we have already been seeing a more positive trend, but we never imagined that the pandemic would become such an ally for our sector. On the contrary, we were imagining that it would lead to several severe complications. Fortunately, the pandemic turned out to be a type of marketing campaign that we could never afford. 2020 was a year of record sales, and with a lot of effort from all of our team, partners, and suppliers, we managed to make it a great year for our company. The current demand is still high, and, fortunately, 2021 will end as another successful year for our company.”



“Quality needs to be in line with increasing prices”
Because of the recently increasing demand and costs, plant and flower prices have been increasing as well. Yet Lorenzi mentions that this is not necessarily fair towards the customer. “We need to make sure that the quality of the plant is in line with the price that is demanded, as the costs have been undergoing significant increases and almost weekly changes. Customers want quality plants and to pay for it justifiably, which is something we need to take into consideration.”



“We have to be careful with expansions”
Lorenzi explains that this increasing demand is not leading to any sudden expansions for Poleplants. “While we are doing great at the moment, you have to stay realistic and not embark on hasty, large expansions. Any year the growth in demand could be regulated, which is something you have to be prepared for as a company. Still, local consumption has been on the rise, interestingly in every month of the year, as well as the exports.” Poleplants is currently expanding their warehouse, a project that was already in the works before Covid. “Now it was necessary to continue our growth in order to better serve our customers.”



The popular varieties
Together with their partnering growers, Poleplants produces over 1.000 varieties. So what have been the most popular varieties during these years of high demand? According to Lorenzi, it is difficult to say. “It has not been a single species or color that has triumphed. Instead, there are many popular varieties; both the usual ones and the newly introduced varieties. The aromatic plants, shrubs and trees, and flowering plants have been especially in demand, however. The indoor plant has also grown intensely, especially green plants returned with great force. As people have been confined at home, many have discovered their gardens and balconies again. While barbecues and swimming pools are only bought once, plants are changeable and thus re-purchasable items throughout the year.”

For more information:
Poleplants 
Marco Lorenzi
marco@poleplants.com 
www.poleplants.com