The last five years have been a true test for the global horticulture industry, says Torben Pedersen, CEO and Co-Founder of Greenex International. "We rode the rollercoaster from the pandemic sales boom and supply chain crisis to the market rebalancing itself post-COVID, and the recent shock of tariff threats in early 2025 that put uncertainty into many people's minds."
Despite these challenges, Torben notes that the market has shown remarkable strength. "The market has proven incredibly resilient. We saw strong spring sales that have held through summer and into early fall — a clear signal of sustained demand."
He highlights the emotional and aesthetic role of plants as something that helped the market recover and stay strong after such turbulent years. "We think a wide combination of products with long shelf life, unique blooms, strong foliage colors, and exciting novelty introductions can act as small luxury pleasures that create well-being. When larger investments such as travel and expensive purchases are on hold, smaller things that beautify the home and make it cozy become affordable and meaningful pleasures."
© Arlette Sijmonsma | FloralDaily.com
Mackenzie Hunse, Kristian Damsted, and Torben Pedersen of Greenex International at the Canadian Greenhouse Conference 2025
Expanding production
Looking ahead, Greenex remains confident in the North American market. "As we look toward 2026 and beyond, Greenex is optimistic. This confidence is driving us to continue to actively invest and expand cutting production for several well-known product lines, to meet the high demand from our U.S. and Canadian customers in 2026-2027 and beyond. This is driven by insatiable demand for interior and patio-scaping related products and by our desire to grow our mutual business with our long-term, trustful, and loyal customers and suppliers," Torben shares.
When it comes to how that expansion will take shape, the approach remains pragmatic. "It depends on expansion capacity and environment, but mostly with existing partnerships and suppliers," he explains. "We're always looking for ideal environments to naturally grow plants more effectively. If things go smoothly at a new site or facility, we mutually explore expansion opportunities."
The company's outlook is rooted in trust and experience. "The last five years only give us more confidence in our products, our long-standing partnerships, and, most importantly, our employees. This leads us to be optimistic about the future. We look forward to continuing to supply this demand to our current and any new customers that join us along the way."
Variety preferences
Although Greenex serves both the U.S. and Canadian markets, Torben notes that each behaves a bit differently. "There are certain variety preferences in different regions, but overall, they perform similarly. Canada has less demand volume but also less volatility. Around 70% of Canadian production goes to U.S. markets, so in effect, they are one and the same. U.S. markets have been more demanding, with higher volatility and faster variety turnovers."
Among the top-performing product groups, he points to a few standouts. "Foliage and Tropicals continue to trend up in high demand, and seasonal blooming such as Rieger Begonia — due to new introductions of varieties and series — has been much better this year than we expected."
For more information:
Torben Pedersen
Greenex International Inc.
[email protected]
https://www.greenex.com/
