Floréac magazine #5 2018: Christmas, glamour & glitter

Images: © www.floreac.com / © unsplash

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Dear customer, Leisurely dinners, reminiscing at the festive table or chatting around the fireplace - it’s wonderful to spend the Christmas period at home with family and friends. And of course atmospheric decoration is all part of it. We would like to inspire your customers to celebrate the best time of the year in style. So, we have put together six different Christmas themes which we are proud to present in this edition.

Anyone who wants to keep things completely traditional will undoubtedly find just what they are looking for in ‘Taste of Christmas’ with its Christmas green, ox-blood red and the necessary glamour & glitter, American style. In ‘Waiting for Santa’, these classics are combined with fresh white and silver for a contemporary touch. We have also added two fabulous shades of green - eucalyptus and emerald.

Or how about a genuinely green Christmas? The theme ‘More than green’ brings winter nature right into the living room, complete with winterflowering hellebores and delicious herbs for the feast. If you would rather evoke the outdoor feel of a winter barbecue, ‘Winter event’ will be perfect with its rustic colour palette, succulents and kalanchoe.

Finally, ‘Dream away in harmony’ and ‘Winter dawn’ are both bathed in an atmosphere of peacefulness and serenity. The first is rather Scandinavian with its natural shades, and the second surprises with winter-white compositions which include anthurium and snow-covered conifers.

Besides our comprehensive presentation of Christmas themes, we will as usual - be taking a look behind the scenes at two of our suppliers. In this edition, we visit amaryllis grower Vreugdenhil from ’s-Gravenzande, in the Netherlands, and Gera-fleur, a Bruges-based Belgian grower who specialises in geraniums, ball chrysanthemums and poinsettias.

Enjoy!

P.S. All the themes and the accompanying POS material can be found in our webshop: : floreac.shop

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Waiting for Santa Anyone who loves a mix of pastel shades and bold colours should definitely explore this Christmas style.

It is both minimalist and luxurious, and the natural shades – off-white, stone and linen grey – make it feel a little bit Scandinavian even.

Moreover, the colour palette goes perfectly with the pale-coloured wood of table legs, Christmas tree shapes and garlands. Orchids in shiny geometric pots, hyacinths and cyclamen in decorative pots with attractive prints and stick-ins add the perfect finishing touch to this dreamy theme.

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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h igh l ighte d prod u c ts

BROMMX-SP63A

AMARRD-GL21A

KADBRDWI-ZNK01A

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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More than Green We are delighted that green is still hot this Christmas and have added warm emerald to the classic Christmas green. This fabulous duo looks good flanked by off-white and brass. Hellebores, greenery in glass and natural materials bring winter nature into the living room. And we’ve even thought of edible herbs for the Christmas dinner!

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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h igh l ighte d prod u c ts

NEW

KERST-ยงGL045A

NEW

AMARYL-WA98A

HENICHCA-SP13A

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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supplier in the spotlight

Since 1938, Westland-based Dutch company Vreugdenhil has been synonymous with quality, not just for its products but for its service too.

What started out as a mixed nursery, growing a variety of vegetables, grapes and tulips, has grown into a huge enterprise with over 160,000 m2 of glass (including sales for partners) spread across 3 branches of its own. So how does an established name like Vreugdenhil hold its own in this changing world? We ask Jochem Vreugdenhil, the founder’s grandson and co-owner of the company.

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supplier in the spotlight

Innovation and collaboration: Vreugdenhil’s success story “Vreugdenhil is virtually synonymous with amaryllis,” begins Jochem. “In the 1960s, we were one of the first growers to work with this plant, by making contact with specialist exporters and importers. These days, the flower still represents a significant proportion of our turnover but we have also extended our pioneering spirit to other products.”

Waterless flowers Vreugdenhil’s innovative nature forms an intrinsic part of its continued growth. “We have always grown along with customer demand, focusing on their specific needs.” A good example is Vreugdenhil’s ‘No Water Flowers®’: handmade, waxed flower bulbs which are guaranteed to grow without a drop of water.

Jochem: “This kind of creative product development has been a recurring theme in our history. It often stems from close collaboration with other companies. If you want to be the market leader, you must be brave enough to enter into alliances.

Our long-term relationship with Floréac just goes to prove it, we enhance and strengthen each other, every time.”

Quality as a basic requirement These days, 95% of Vreugdenhil’s turnover consists of pot plants. The rest is made up of amaryllis bulbs.

The company exports to China and the US, among other countries. “However, our biggest sales market is naturally Europe. We have a strong presence in the UK, Germany and Sweden in particular.”

Over the years, Vreugdenhil has seen the market change significantly. “Quality used to be the most important thing. These days, it is simply a basic requirement. Supply precision and logistical efficiency are the most important strengths f l o r e a c ma ga zi n e

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supplier in the spotlight

ID company Vreugdenhil location ’s-Gravenzande (The

Netherlands) sur face ar ea 12 ha n umber of pl ants 15 million workf orce over 100 permanent

staff active The Netherlands

nowadays. You simply must keep your promises. This means you must make sure that what is shown on your website corresponds exactly to what you are selling, and that you meet your delivery deadlines.

Customers want to get what they see. We have our own fleet of trucks to make sure that everything runs smoothly.”

Plants with a future And what will Vreugdenhil’s future hold? Jochem: “We intend to keep on innovating. Not just in terms of products, but also

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« Clients are becoming a lot more demanding in terms of the story behind the product. That’s why we really want to put our plants in the spotlight in the future. » Jochem Vreugdenhil, copropriétaire Vreugdenhil sustainability. For example, a while ago we installed 640 new solar panels to provide our head office in ’s-Gravenzande with green power. And we also want to focus more on marketing in

the future. We have noticed that clients are becoming a lot more demanding in terms of the story behind our products. That’s why we really want to put our plants in the spotlight in the future.”

h igh l ighte d prod u c ts : vr e ugd e n h i l

AMARYLKL12-TA2A

AMARMX-17TA2AXXL

AMARKL13-TA2A

AMARMX-12TA2P

AMARRD-SP19A

AMARYL-WA36A

NEW

AMARYL-WA100A

AMARYL-ZP44A

AMARYL-WA104A Please visit our website for the full range of this supplier.

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Taste of Christmas Or how about a classic American Christmas? We’ve really pulled out all the stops with this luxurious theme, combining Christmas red and green with oxblood red, pearl and, of course, some chic pale gold.

Blush pink brings a touch of romance to this Christmas classic, too. Compositions with all kinds of appealing stick-in decorations are a must-have with this theme.

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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h igh l ighte d prod u c ts

EPIPHY-SP06A

LY IVE LUST C X A C E RÉA FLO

PODBRD-SP14A

PHALMX-SP89TA2A

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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Morning walk For this timeless theme, we drew inspiration from a winter morning walk in a misty, snowy landscape. And even though winter white is never going to get boring, it also combines seamlessly with fresh blue shades or cashmere brown for a contemporary look.

White anthurium, snow-covered conifers and wintery compositions with hints of blue complete the picture.

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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h igh l ighte d prod u c ts

NEW

STEPHA-FSP02A

NEW

PHKOWI-GL02TA2A

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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supplier in the spotlight

In 1995, the Bruges-based vegetable grower Bart Franco planted a modest 60,000 geraniums as an experiment. Some 20 years later this figure has grown to 1.3 million, as well as violets, ball chrysanthemums and poinsettias. Crates and crates of them, all year round, high-quality products which are sold all over Europe – a total of some 2.3 million pots. How daring, innovation and partnerships made the family business Gera-fleur flourish like never before.

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supplier in the spotlight

How a vegetable grower from Bruges was seduced by geraniums “My grandparents started to grow vegetables after the Second World War”, says Bart.

“They mainly grew lettuce and tomatoes. When I took over, I was keen to experiment with other crops. Hence the geranium experiment.”

Flourishing with Floréac However, initially the flower business failed to flourish.

“It was a bad season and we didn’t have the experience we needed. But I had already been in contact with Floréac. They promised that if we could grow

the same number of geraniums the following year, they would do business with us. And Floréac has been our main client since 1996. So, you could say they were there in the nursery of the young Gera-fleur.”

Flowers all year round Besides flowers, Bart and his wife continued to grow lettuce and tomatoes during the early years. However, geraniums began to play an increasingly important role. A total of 12,000 m2 of greenhouses

« 75% of our greenhouses have an ‘eb and flow’ irrigation system. The result? Reduced water consumption, the reuse of fertilisers and less need for chemicals. » Bart Franco, owner of Gera-fleur

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supplier in the spotlight

were added in 2007. “Today, we have a total of 28,000 m2 of greenhouses - quite a lot by Belgian standards. And we no longer use the whole area just for geraniums, even though they are still our main product. We also grow violets, ball chrysanthemums and poinsettias.

We have selected our range to allow us to use the greenhouses all year round. In addition, we grow 50,000 square metres of ball chrysanthemums outside.”

Eb and flow In order to make the product expansion a success, the entrepreneurs had to completely revise their growing methods. “These days, 75% of our greenhouses have an ‘eb and flow’ irrigation system. This involves concrete containers, measuring 8 by 50 metres, being flooded with water in rotation. The plants suck up all the water they need and the water then runs out for use in the next container. This keeps water losses to a minimum and allows us to reuse fertilisers.

Another advantage is that we need fewer chemicals to combat moulds and diseases as the plants don’t stay wet.”

Bart sees an eb and flow principle in the flower business too. “The market is changing constantly and is becoming stricter - when it comes to pesticides and herbicides as well. That’s why we have to keep on modernising. And we want to stand out from the competition, not only because of the quality of our products, but because of the service we offer too. If people order in the morning, we can often respond the same day.”

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ID company Gera-fleur location Bruges, Belgium sur face ar ea 10 ha n umber of pl ants 2,3 million workf orce 2 permanent staff + 5

to 12 seasonal workers active Belgium

h igh l ighte d prod u c ts : G e r a - f l e u r

NEW

PODBRD-06V

PODBRD-B6+A2 PODBWI-06V

PODBRD-B5+V

PODBRD-B6+A

PODBRD-V10V

PODBWI-V10V Please visit our website for the full range of this supplier.

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Dream away in harmony Anyone who loves a mix of pastel shades and bold colours should definitely explore this Christmas style.

It is both minimalist and luxurious, and the natural shades – off-white, stone and linen grey – make it feel a little bit Scandinavian even.

Moreover, the colour palette goes perfectly with the pale-coloured wood of table legs, Christmas tree shapes and garlands. Orchids in shiny geometric pots, hyacinths and cyclamen in decorative pots with attractive prints and stick-ins add the perfect finishing touch to this dreamy theme.

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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h igh l ighte d prod u c ts

NEW

DENOAPPF-VP01A

ANSWDR-SP01A

PHALMX-SP97TA2A

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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Winter event This cool, slightly masculine style is at the same time super stylish. It whisks you off to the terrace of a chalet in the mountains for a winter barbecue. Alongside rust and chocolate brown, steel and midnight blue catch the eye, and off-white completes the rustic colour mix.

A result that goes wonderfully with shades of yellow and orange, by the way. Succulents and kalanchoe seem made for this theme; wooden reindeer, gold Christmas baubles and metallic silhouettes add the perfect finishing touch.

Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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h igh l ighte d prod u c ts

NEW

ALCOSM-SP07A

NEW

KERST-ยง313A

ELY SIV U L EXC AT C Rร A FLO

FICUS-DI10A Please visit our website for the full range of this theme.

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Place an order for at least ÂŁ500 per theme and receive a festive banner.

FlorĂŠac nv Beerveldse Baan 4 9080 Lochristi Belgium T +32 9 353 53 53 F +32 9 355 52 34 info@floreac.com www.floreac.com

order by webshop : fax : telephone :

www.floreac.shop +32 9 355 52 34 +32 9 353 53 53

or contact your account manager