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How an iconic supplier of garden roses with nearly half a century-long history in the Netherlands leaned in and began to reinvent itself. Under the leadership of a new owner – Wouter de Vries – the company sees an opportunity for business transformation, putting sustainably grown, fragrant, less mainstream and quality roses, and, naturally, the customer, at the centre of its business.
In January this year, Wouter de Vries acquired the Dutch-based Belle Epoque firm, which has become a household name supplying bare root and potted roses to the gardening public over the past 46 years.
Coincidence or not, Belle Epoque translates in English as ‘Beautiful Era’ and references the period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It is often touted as the Golden Age of progress, innovation and optimism, three words that aptly describe how De Vries sees modern entrepreneurship.
Belle Epoque’s new owner, Wouter de Vries.
Flying Dutchman
De Vries, aged 37, was born in Valkenburg, literally surrounded by the so-called Flying Dutchmen, man-with-a-van (truck) businesses purchasing their flowers at the auction early in the morning and delivering them to florists and wholesalers in the UK, Germany and France the same or next day.
De Vries recalls, “I started my working life at dried flower specialist Hogewoning from Rijnsburg. I worked for different auction-based floral wholesalers and later became a Flying Dutchman myself. I believe I am blessed with an innate curiosity for doing things differently. So, while everyone was selling their flowers in Germany or the UK, I tried my luck in Norway. Norblomst was the only Flying Dutchmen exporting to Norway at the time. Driving back and forth to Norway and learning to speak Norwegian on the road was quite an adventure. Frankly speaking, the most valuable things I learned at this job were manoeuvring a big truck on sometimes slippery roads and presenting customers with the best and newest blooms, always in the hope of selling out within 24 hours. Faced with all kinds of unexpected problems, you genuinely learn how to fiddle your way around as an entrepreneur.”
Parfum Flower Company
In 2011, he met Tim and Maggie Hobbs of the 64-ha flower farm Tambuzi during a business trip to Kenya. The couple grows scented cut roses at the foothills of Mount Kenya.
De Vries elaborates, “They offered me some samples of heavily scented light pink ‘Prince Jardinier’ (Meilland) roses, which opened my senses and mind to new ways of thinking. I had never seen nor smelled roses like this. I was also taken by the company’s efforts to improve the welfare of its employees and surrounding communities and mitigate potential negative impacts on the environment. Convinced of having something truly different to stand out in the crowded rose market, I joined forces with the Hobbs, setting up the Parfum Flower Company (PFC) in the Netherlands, specialising in selling scented roses from Kenya, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany and the Netherlands to Dutch flower exporters. Initially, the latter were reluctant to venture into fragrant roses, but now they are selling sometimes for €1,40 per stem. This is good pricing that boils down to the right marketing strategy, brand value, and recognition.”
In 2023, De Vries sold the Parfum Flower Company to the business conglomerate Dutch Flower Group before striking on its own the year after. He comments, “My goal was to focus on B2C marketing, engage more with florists and change the supply chain. However, I do understand that an internationally operating and professional company such as DFG is mostly driven by profitability, with risk management being crucial. But I do hope that will further develop the company. What may help is their advantage of scale.”
Meilland’s iconic climber, the Eden rose.
Cut roses
While currently, there is no official partnership between Belle Epoque and Tambuzi other than Wouter, Maggie and Tim continue to be in touch with each other. Plus, Belle Epoque sells scented, large-headed roses in its rose centre in Aalsmeer, open to the public on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings. De Vries notes, “From exquisitely petalled and amber gold and cream-hued ‘Chandos Beauty’ to the white ‘Margaret Merill’, people love their remarkably strong and sweet scent. If available, I also try to sell them as cut flowers. Belle Epoque, as a one-stop shop for roses to plant in your summer garden and brighten up your home in winter, is a unique service appreciated by customers.”
Priceless feedback
Customers at Belle Epoque find themselves mostly in cohorts aged 45-65 and 65-85. Belle Epoque is happy with them, while the company is equally delighted to see an influx of younger customers. De Vries believes that online sales, currently accounting for 70 per cent of revenues, might be a way to lure in a new generation.
He says, “Online requests are predominantly regarding David Austin varieties, in particular the older ones that are no longer available. There’s also demand for French oldies such as ‘Peace’ created in 1945 by Meilland (in German-speaking countries called ‘Gloria Dei’, in French-speaking countries ‘Mme A. Meilland’). This variety features large, yellow blooms that are edged with soft pink.
When asked about tips for increasing one’s online sales, De Vries says, “The higher you rank on Google, the bigger your success is. But you need pockets for that. I dare to say that Google is currently my most expensive employee.”
The good thing is that Belle Epoque is a very specialised, rose-focused business with a handful of companies doing the same thing in the Netherlands. De Vries explains, “Therefore, I am not going easily unnoticed in the online environment. What I also remark is that even in an online setting, people prefer to buy from me, Wouter. Thus, from real life persons instead of purchasing at anonymous sites where the ‘about us’ section has gone lost.”
Whether he meets his customers online or in person in his purpose-built rose/plant centre in Aalsmeer, the feedback De Vries receives is priceless. He notes, “They ask for bee-friendly roses, so on trend are single flowered cultivars such as Babylon Eyes to the detriment of the double blooms.”
A love for the unusual
Belle Epoque currently offers many varieties across a range of hybrid tea, floribunda, climber, rambler, damasks, rugosas, patio and standard roses.
Though De Vries did not grow up around the rose industry, he is a self-acclaimed rose aficionado. He is quick to specify that he is passionate about the less mainstream varieties and not the specimens you can find on the retail shelves and mass-produced for discounters and DIY stores.
He says, “I am convinced that my type of customers are not searching for Lidl or Aldi quality. They would rather buy their roses in garden centres, my biggest competitors. However, in today’s garden centres, there is hardly anyone who can advise them on pruning, fertilising and general maintenance.”
Belle Epoque is a specialist, meaning that advising, selecting, potting and selling the finest quality garden roses is what it does. It deliberately does not propagate nor grow garden roses. De Vries: “Up to 99 per cent of roses are available as bare roots, with their sales running between October and April. Next, we plant in pots, which we will sell until October.”
Grafted roses
Wouter says he is happy with how this year’s first sales have evolved, selling more plants than anticipated. Notwithstanding that in November, December, January, and February, demand is low, so some fat on the bones is needed while hibernating.
Deciding what roses to sell is also a question of what rose plant to grow, and that’s a discussion between Wouter and Max Verschuren, a second-generation rose grower producing rose plants in a 20-ha company in the province of Brabant.
De Vries notes, “All budwood is grafted onto Natal Briar, a creation of Peter van de Pol from Wageningen in 1985. Why grafted instead of own root roses? If professionals have been grafting roses for 100 years, there sure must be a reason for it. When comparing, roses on rootstock grow faster and more vigorously than those propagated from cuttings. The hand budding of roses requires a strong back and special skills. This specialist handwork is expensive and increasingly unavailable. There’s already machinery that can cleverly clip together the rootstock and scion of tomato plants, so what’s next?”
Biologically grown
Upon arrival at his retail outlet in Aalsmeer, rose plants grew into beefy and resilient specimens in two years. De Vries: “Out there in the market are also 6-month or 1-year bushes, but we go for the best roses for the garden, focusing on healthy, vigorous, sustainably grown varieties that will thrive without too much effort at the consumer’s level.”
More recently, De Vries and rose propagator Verschuren decided to switch to 100 per cent biologically grown rose plants within two years because younger customers ask for and do not like ‘no’ as an answer. “Max Verschuren already embarked on a 2ha biological rose crop. I do not believe in a business model selling traditional and bio-like products because my selling space is limited. So, we are now busy with selecting the rootstock best suited for bioproduction and the business model that comes with it.”
Arguably, the biggest challenge is explaining to customers that the presence of an occasional caterpillar or bug, some brown leaves or petals, is not automatically worrying, while, naturally, no single concession is made to the blooming capacity of the plants.
At the same time, fungi and bacteria in roses will continue to challenge future rose production. The unfittest varieties will disappear from the market. De Vries adds, “Here, the rose’s success as the ambassador of emotions and sentiments may work against us. Some customers are deeply attached to specific varieties and will continue to ask for it even if these cannot be grown biologically.”
Bio works
De Vries refrains from any chemical crop protection in his rose centre sales outlet in Aalsmeer. “Bio fully works here. If really needed, the best solution is to prune roses back so they can reemerge healthy. If quality marks can help, make a sustainable choice? There is demand for roses bearing the long-standing ADR (Allgemeine Deutsche Rosenneuheitenprüfung) mark while so far no one has asked for Excellence Roses, a certification scheme by Dutch and Belgian rose professionals.”
Also, in shipping its roses, Belle Epoque is very aware of environmental issues, making every effort to reduce the use of plastic in packaging. For example, roses ordered from April through to October are dispatched in unprinted carton boxes that have the highest recycling rate of all packaging materials. A bamboo stick keeps the plants in place, while cellulose tape is used to close the box.
Established breeder part of a traditional industry
Roses have an outstanding number one position among garden plants. The stability of sales is a recognised advantage, and there is no reason to expect change. The market size and security, mixed with Wouter’s character to approach things differently and thus unperturbed by the imposing industry of the established breeders, is an impulse for further progress instead of a standstill.
“Frankly, I think it is still pretty traditional. Seldomly do I see something really different, and it looks like all the breeders are aiming at million rose plants to earn the most royalties. That’s not my purpose, as I look for the prettiest variety. Ideally, we can develop things together. So, I discuss with breeders how to successfully breed something together and search for a win-win situation. Perhaps the way forward is less plants and more longtime royalties.”
The future of Dutch cut rose to grow
Asked about the future of Dutch cut rose growing, De Vries believes the industry will never return to its heydays when the country hosted nearly 10,000ha of cut rose nurseries. However, farm fresh quality and local for local are ongoing trends. “As said, I sell minor amounts of cut roses, some of which are sourced in Kenya. And then, I need to convince my customers that in Kenya, there is no need to heat greenhouses. The debate about Dutch-grown or African-grown roses is complex. The reality is that in the Netherlands, it is difficult to compensate your energy use by planting trees; in Kenya, it isn’t because there is plenty of land to do so.”
Yet, De Vries keeps a firm belief in Dutch rose growing as he witnesses how, with LEDs, solar panels, co-generation plants, geothermal heat, and other high tech, Dutch growers are smart enough to keep on producing. He concludes, “The big question is where the appropriate on-trend Dutch rose mix is. Why is a good orange Dutch rose still missing? With that, I am questioning the business model of an industry that only offers reds, whites and pinks. Dutch truly excel in Avalanche+ and Red Naomi, but I take there’s much more in roses. Therefore, I have a soft spot for companies such as Vip Roses, run by Mark Sassen, who, on 5ha, grows limited amounts of niche-type, often fragrant roses. These are special in that they fly off the shelves automatically.”
Company History
The late garden rose connoisseur, collector, author, and seller Walter Verhue founded Belle Epoque in 1978 in Oostvoorne.
Walter’s daughter said that her father was always on the lookout for rare and unusual roses, old-fashioned, bourbon-shaped roses, and he travelled the world to find them and plant them out in his own garden.
Here, he always succeeded in creating the wow effect among visitors who subsequently asked Verhue if he would sell his special roses.
So, he started propagating them. Later, the company moved to Aalsmeer, where Huib Smelt from JD Maarsse made rose plants that were sold to wholesalers and exporters. The Belle Epoque brand, in the 1990s, was sold to Maarsse, and it became a brand under which garden roses were sold to gardeners.
Next, the Belle Epoque brand was sold to a tech-savvy entrepreneur in the Netherlands who transitioned the company into a blooming online business. On 1 January 2024, Wouter de Vries became its new owner.
Wouter takes pride in releasing new and tried and tested garden roses from internationally renowned breeders such as David Austin, Kordes, Tantau and Meilland.
De Vries’ future goals include setting up a rose breeding programme in collaboration with breeders from home and abroad who are willing to give him some budwood of unexplored uncoded varieties to trial in the Netherlands. Ultimately, the dream is to offer a Belle Epoque collection, including a range of never-seen-before roses.
Belle Epoque is also targeting future growth, expanding from 6,500 plants this year to 8,500 in 2025.
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