There is a relaxed atmosphere at Niels Kreuk's tulip company. This is one of the most modern tulip growers in the Netherlands and one of the nominees for the Horticultural Business Award. Thanks to a three-layer cultivation system, Niels Kreuk makes it profitable to offer mixed tulip bunches.
"We offer mixed bunches to our customers," Niels explains. "Where a tulip grower would normally grow 100,000 tulips for a single order, we grow five times 20,000 tulips of different colors. Conventional systems cannot grow or produce these mixed bunches. We have invested in a system that can work with relatively small quantities per color and short rows so that the different colors are easy to pick up. It requires enormous flexibility, both in cultivation and in the making of the orders as well as in marketing.
What makes Niels Kreuk BV unique is that the company does not follow the trend of scaling up at all costs. "The increase in scale in tulip growing continues," Niels explains. "You see smaller companies dropping out because they are not distinctive enough. We have made certain choices, which gives us profitable flexibility in our product choice. This allows us to remain small and manageable. Logistically speaking, it is also just a matter of working with people. As long as the planning can be supervised by one person, that is the best system there is. On top of that, a complex digital system is not necessary, because we operate effectively as a small company."
Niels completely took over his parents' family business in 2016 and converted it into today's company, but had been involved in the business since 2005. "I mainly worked on picking up direct trade," says Niels. "We went from the auction to working directly with the customer. Sometimes that works better than other times, but thanks to our flexible business culture and building customer relationships, we can serve the customers better and better."
"The trick is to do everything right," Niels continues. "That is only possible if you keep learning, and that is also part of flexible business management. Ideally, you want every tulip to go to the place where it yields the highest price. The average basic price for mixed bunches is still going up in the current market, so our specialization makes us profitable. You deliver to the customer what he cannot get elsewhere. That way, as a small company, you can still remain relevant in the market."
Source: Tuinbouw Ondernemersprijs