The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) members consist of thousands of growers of flowers and ornamental plants around the world who are together united by one essential goal – promoting the place of plants in people’s lives.
AIPH hosts several conferences, webinars and events such as the International Grower of the Year award throughout the year. Read about these along with the latest news about the association’s activities.
AIPH’s key aim is to stimulate demand for ornamental trees, plants and flowers worldwide. We are committed to supporting growers in achieving this by protecting and promoting the interests of the industry.
Free webinar to focus on mass-market floral retail in Poland
8 June 2022, 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm Central European Summertime - Online
On 8 June 2022, the Dutch Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Warsaw, supported by media partner FloraCulture International (FCI), the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH), and Fresh Market Poland, will bring together an impressive line-up of expert international industry speakers taping into the potential of mass-market floral in Poland.
What’s this webinar about?
This webinar will investigate how floral wholesalers and retailers can support each other in personalisation, digital marketing, in-store experience, product discovery, point of sale, customer feedback, and consumer analytics. Speakers from The Netherlands will promote its circular agriculture approach and look into stimulating floral sales of Dutch flowers and plants in Polish retail.
Polish speakers will provide a comprehensive overview of the retail landscape in Poland, while the International Fresh Produce Association gives valuable insight into the current state and future direction of mass-market floral in the US.
Why Polish retail?
The Polish economic miracle is remarkable in many ways. Since the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the Polish economy has rapidly transformed from a centrally planned economy to a free-market economy.
Thanks to solid monetary and fiscal policies, the country avoided a large-scale recession during the 2008-2009 banking crisis and saw its GDP grow around five per cent by 2020, outperforming most Western European countries in economic terms. The pandemic caused much human and financial suffering, but Poland managed to limit the economic downturn by -3.6 per cent, a significantly smaller percentage than other countries.
Meanwhile, bilateral trade and investment steadily increase due to stable economic growth. This Central European country, partly due to its location and its young and dynamic population, offers many opportunities for Dutch exporters of floricultural products. The use of substantial EU and World Bank funds strengthens the agricultural and horticulture sector development. Due to its geographical location at the crossroads between East and West, Poland is an important trading partner for the Netherlands, especially in the trade-in flowers and plants.
In 2021, Dutch companies exported €347 million (+22.4% compared to 2020) worth of floriculture products, which puts Poland in fifth place in the top ten export countries compiled by the Association of Wholesalers Floriculture Products (VGB) and market analyst Floridata.
Why the Netherlands?
The Netherlands has many strengths: a technically advanced horticultural sector, environmentally certified products, a global distribution hub and well-oiled logistics, a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and an unprecedented range of products.
Dutch growers export cut flowers, pot plants, bedding plants, trees, shrubs, perennials, and flower bulbs to all corners of the world. As the sale of flowers and plants in Polish supermarkets and DIY stores is gaining ground and becoming more professional, the Embassy of the Netherlands wishes to profile the country as a supplier of high-quality and sustainably cultivated flowers, plants, trees, and bulbs.
Speakers
There will be five presenters for the ‘Mass-Market Floral in Poland ’ webinar who are all ready to illuminate in abundance the opportunities and challenges in this country’s market segment.
The webinar is open to industry professionals in the broadest sense of the word. So every breeder, grower, exporter, retailer, horticultural supplier or marketeer of cut flowers, bouquets, houseplants, garden plants, shrubs, trees and bulbs can register.
The ‘Mass-Market Floral in Poland’ webinar is on 8 June 2022 from 3pm to 4:30pm.
Inaugural online trade mission Poland on 23 June
The webinar is a ‘prelude’ to an Online Trade Mission Poland, which will follow two weeks later 23 June 2022. During this inaugural ticketed event, the Dutch Embassy in Warsaw, in association with Polish retail consultant Fresh Market Poland, the international organisation of ornamental plant producers AIPH and media partner FloraCulture International (FCI), will organise individual, tailor-made B2B meetings between Dutch exporters of floricultural products and the most prominent retail chains in Poland. The online trade mission will showcase the latest breeding breakthroughs and marketing concepts to Poland’s cream of supermarkets and DIY stores.
Would you like to participate in this online trade mission and learn more about the retailers involved? Click here.
15:00 – Welcome by Mr Tim Briecliffe, Secretary-General of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH).
15:05 – Ms Carolien Spaans, Agricultural Counsellor of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Warsaw.
Mrs Spaans will answer the question as to why circular agriculture/horticulture is so important.
15:15 – Mr Tomasz Szacoń of RetailPoland Consulting Ltd.
He will provide a comprehensive overview of the Polish retail landscape.
15:25 – Ms Brigitte Hagen of Conceptfactory.eu.
She has just conducted a survey on behalf of the chrysanthemum foundation Chryson looking at consumer behaviour and floral purchases at Polish supermarkets. She will communicate these results at the webinar.
15:35 – Mr Robert Radkiewicz
Independent Consultant He will be giving insights into how to tap into the potential of Polish garden centre sales.
15:45 – Ms Becky Roberts, Director of Floral, International Fresh Produce Association.
In her presentation, she will provide hands-on tips for retailers about how to improve floral sales, and presentation and reduce shrink.
16:00 – All presenters for a round table debate, and to answer viewers’ questions.
Becky Roberts, Director of Floral,
International Fresh Produce Association.
As Director of Floral for International Fresh Produce Association (formerly Produce Marketing Association), Becky has helped association members grow their companies through connections to information, insights and each other. She drives integrated programming for the floral portfolio, including research, education, networking, and events. She has travelled the world to meet members, understand their needs and identify opportunities for collaborations that bring value to members’ businesses. Working with volunteer leaders has provided her with many memorable experiences, grown her knowledge of the industry, and made her job fun! She is a native of Delaware and holds a degree in History from the University of Delaware. When not at work, she can be found in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, enjoying the beach, or travelling to visit historical sites.
Carolien Spaans, Agricultural Counsellor of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Warsaw.
Carolien Spaans has been active as an agricultural council for the Dutch agricultural sector in Poland since August 2019. She also works in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. “Poland is in honorable eighth on the list of export countries of the Dutch agri-food sector.”
Carolien studied International Relations at the University of Amsterdam. In 2006 she ended up at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in a detour. There she held various positions. “I actually completed my agricultural training at the ministry. What a beautiful sector! The agri-food sector is at the forefront of innovation worldwide. Take the vegetable seed companies, they invest about 15% of their turnover in research. As a result, they not only stay ahead of their competitors, new starting material also helps to make the sector more sustainable, for example by developing new varieties that require less water.”
Brigitte Hagen works for the marketing agency Concept Factory. She is involved in marketing campaigns and generic promotion and trade show presence for individual or growers alliances within ornamental horticulture in Europe. Arguably among her most significant account is the Chryson Foundation, the Dutch growers collective involved in the generic promotion of the chrysanths industry and its beautiful products. She is a strong advocate for teaming up with partners across the floral supply chain to promote sales of chrysanths to the maximum. Her speciality is doing in-depth market research in association with retailers and their suppliers. Also, an important task is assessing consuming behaviour and signalling consumer trends to translate these into commercial, customised, innovative product lines in chrysanths.
Tomasz Szacoń, Director, Retail Poland Consulting Ltd.
Tomasz Szacoń knows what works and what doesn’t when cooperating with retail chains. In his job as a trade consultant, he uses his experience gained in companies such as Philips, Waterpik, SJCAM, Clarena, L`Biotica, BlanX and Helsinki Vodka. He brings closer the commercial terms between the supplier and the retailer. He understands what processes facilitate the introduction of products on the shelves of retail chains and what allows them to keep the proper sales in the chain. He is the author of many publications about sales to retail chains.
Robert Radkiewicz, Independent Consultant
For over 20 years, Mr Robert Radkiewicz has been improving displays, sales and marketing strategies of garden centres in Poland. He graduated in agriculture and defended a PhD in environmental protection, which gave him in-depth knowledge of plant physiology. He lived for ten years in Switzerland, where he mastered his skills and expertise in garden centres. Robert makes complex projects and re-organisations garden shops and centres. He trains employees and improves the trading skills of the management of the centres.
Robert is an independent advisor. He does not represent any company except himself.
