Romanian people tend to buy flowers on holidays, and they have quite some occasions to do so such as Names days or Romanian Valentine's Day (24 February) which is called Dragobetele. Also, in March there is a reason to buy flowers as the country celebrates the Spring festival (1 March) and International Women's Day (8 March). On these two holidays, men offer flowers to women they know. And there are even more holidays, such as Easter (5 March), which tends to go in conjunction with the sale of outdoor plants. Over the years, these holidays have become busy days for the floral departments of the Romanian supermarkets. Like in several other countries, they increasingly sell plants and flowers.
A gateway to the Romanian market
"This year was very crazy and busy, more busy than other years. We had a 20% increase in sales and it was a true challenge to meet the demand of the supermarkets. Despite the inflation, people are willing to buy flowers," says Iulian Cazacu, manager of International Bloemen. Although this company delivers flowers to Romanian supermarkets on almost a daily basis, this has not always been the case. When working in the Netherlands, Cazacu became interested in the flower sector and subsequently founded International Bloemen in 2012. He elaborates: "It was a challenging start but as we supplied the first flowers and plants to the supermarkets, demand increased sharply. At that time, there were not so many flowers and plants in the supermarkets. Around 2007, I saw the first flowers in the supermarkets during a holiday, but not on a daily basis. Now, we are among the few companies that are supplying Romanian supermarkets on a daily basis. Besides supplying flowers and plants, we also deliver bouquets, ceramics terrariums, and arrangements."
The company imports from growers and suppliers all over Europe, but also from producers within Romania. They even have growers who grow for them only. "Currently, we have growers with over 20.000 m2 of greenhouses that produce only for us, year-round." According to Cazacu, 40-50% of their flowers come from the Netherlands (mostly indoor plants and cut flowers), and the rest from other European countries including Italy, Greece, and Hungary. "We used to buy all of our flowers at the auction, but now we also work directly with suppliers (25%) and growers (25%). The plants and flowers often go directly from the grower to the supermarket unless we need to repack them or make arrangements of them."
Cazacu also mentions that he is always looking for more growers who intend to explore the Romanian market. "We're a kind of middlemen. It's very difficult for a producer with one plant to get contracts with a supermarket here in Romania. So, we're a gateway for growers to enter the Romanian market. We connect growers and supermarkets and arrange the contracts and transportation."
The Romanian flower market – trends and expectations
Cazacu explains that Romania is a flower-loving country, but most of the flowers are sold for a specific holiday. For that reason, the flower market has some specific customs. "Flowers and plants, such as hyacinths, are sold fully-grown because they are sold as gifts. On top of that, we only sell bunches in uneven numbers as bunches in even numbers are only used for funerals." Further, he adds that phalaenopsis is an important plant in Romania, but due to the low margins on this plant, International Bloemen isn't selling it as much anymore.
Cazacu expects that the Romanian flower industry will expand in the future: "Supermarkets already said they would like to increase the amount of flowers and plants for Christmas as last year was very big. "In 2016, we started with only half a truck of poinsettias, and last year, we delivered more than 50 trucks of poinsettias. These poinsettias are all grown for us by a grower in Hungary on 40ha. To get all the plants to the supermarket in such a short time frame was a logistical challenge, but due to customized sleeving per supermarket, we managed to deliver them on time."
Expansion plans
As the ornamental market in Romania is expected to continue growing, International Bloemen not only decided to expand their storage area but is also investing in making processes more efficient and introducing new products and arrangements. "The demand is growing, so we will need more space in the future. For this reason, we decided to expand our storage from 2.000 m2 to 2.600 m2. On top of that, 2 years ago we invested in the SAP program which we further develop now, which will make us more efficient."
Also, they are continuously innovating and broadening their assortment. "We sell a lot of products, from potting soil to ceramics, arrangements, and all kinds of flowers and plants. And we are always looking for novelties or something new to add. Next year, for example, we will introduce pots with Romanian landscapes and buildings. And as said earlier, we are always looking for new products and growers who would like to enter the Romanian market."
For more information:
Iulian Cazacu
International Bloemen
Email: [email protected]
www.internationalbloemen.ro