Rob Olsthoorn's blog: "We want our to use our plants to stand out"
In 1990, Rob Olsthoorn took over the nursery in De Lier from his father. At the time, the range of OK Plant consisted of cut flowers, pot plants, cut phalaenopsis, cut anthurium and ferns. "We no longer offer cut flowers; we're more interested in plants and we want to use them to stand out."
"At the start, we regularly leased gardens in De Lier to cultivate seasonal products. In 2004, I purchased a modern tomato nursery in Naaldwijk, which I converted into a plant nursery. When our neighbors' nursery in Naaldwijk was put up for sale in 2006, I bought it so that we could expand. I then sold the nursery in De Lier and we now have two branches: Naaldwijk and Maasdijk."
Making it easy
In Naaldwijk, OK Plant cultivates Little Kolibri Orchids. "That's our brand. Because the phalaenopsis is a small orchid, we named it after the colibri, the smallest bird in the world. We purchase the product from the best breeders in the world and third parties cultivate the plants. We take care of the phase from potting the plants to the moment they begin to flower. We want to produce products with different colors, shapes and prints, and we're working to stand out in many areas, including by offering total solutions, specifically via our unique range of ceramic and baskets. These products make things easier on our customers. The seasonal products help to increase our commercial clout. Customers can make combined purchases from us: Little Kolibri Orchids and seasonal plants, with or without ceramics. Anything is possible."
Surprising
"We feel that personal contact with customers is very important, which is why we sell our products via Royal FloraHolland's direct trade channel. We also always attend the Trade Fair, as well as several smaller expos. Our ambition is to constantly surprise our customers and to put them in the best sales position, and the only way to achieve this is to truly know our customers. Our approach works and thankfully, we have many regular customers."
Rob never considered doing anything else. "This is a great profession. The best part is that our products provide our customers with added value and we earn a little something as a result."
Growers and customers about their passion
Together with the growers and their customers, Royal FloraHolland has made the world a more beautiful and healthy place with its flowers and plants. With 100,000 transactions every day and 400,000 types of flowers and plants, we are the international marketplace and knowledge partner that works with growers and their customers to ensure their success. We give them a face in this blog. They can write about their passion here - about their products, their companies and the floricultural industry.
Flowering the world.
