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Tulip grower Ronico: proud winner of the 2026 Dutch Horticultural Entrepreneur of the Year Award
The Dutch Secretary of State for agriculture, fisheries, food security and nature, Silvio Erkens, has presented the 2026 Dutch Horticultural Entrepreneur Award to Ronico. The bulb farmer and tulip forcer from Hem won the award on Wednesday 11 March at the Keukenhof spring gardens in Lisse, the Netherlands.
Now in its 40th year, the award recognises progressive growers who embrace technology, modern and sustainable production practices, market innovation, strong customer service and demonstrate their position as an industry leader.
The jury stated: “It is impressive to see how the company has increased its spending on technology over the past few years. Ronico thinks big and is a prime example of efficient chain management from bulb to tulp. The people behind Ronico truly demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit that drives them to innovate, take risks, and create new opportunities. Ronico’s flowers are also a testament to sustainability and prove that a vase filled with climate neutral tulips is actually possible. All these aspects makes Ronico a worthy addition to the list of Horticultural Entrepreneur Award winners.”
The coveted award was presented to the company’s directors, third-generation Niels and Robèr de Wit who stressed how ‘extremely proud and delighted’ they are that their company has won the highest accolade in Dutch horticulture. This recognition underscores the hard work of all Ronico employees.
Founded in1939, Ronico grows, packs and dispatches more than 250 million cut tulips per year. According to the expert judges of the Dutch Horticultural Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, the company, is at the forefront of technological progress through ongoing automation and robotisation. Also, the Westfrisian tulip grower was one of the first companies that began calculating the environmental footprint per tulp. Footprint calculation helps the company to produce more sustainably and meet increasingly stringent environmental requirements. It is also a way to counteract political and societal pressure.
Ronico battled it out against two competitors. Limgroup is an Asparagus and strawberry breeder from Limburg, the southernmost province of the Netherlands. Limgroup is the commercial offspring of the horticultural research centre Proeftuin Noord-Limburg which has been active in asparagus breeding since the 1960s. Whereas vegetative propagation is a more common practice for strawberries, Limgroup focuses on raised-strawberries, which provide logistical and technical advantages to both the grower and distributor. Last year, Limgroup has released the F1 Hybrid strawberry variety Limore One, which, the company says, offers propagators 100% clean starting material and a drastically shortened production cycle, with unparalleled possibilities for automation. A good taste and more reliable disease free growing are other advantages offered by the new breakthrough variety.
Third contestant and family business KP Holland, founded in 1950, is committed to growing success for growers and trading partners. At six locations, the company develops, propagates and produces plant varieties within the Spathiphyllum, Kalanchoe and Curcuma product groups. Together with national and international growers and trading partners, KP Holland stands for plant excellence, aiming to create an attractive and healthy living environment for consumers
The Collaboration and Social Cohension Award was presented to Broekpolder 2040, an entrepreneurs association named after a 425ha greenhouse area and 40ha of recreational landscape in the Westland area.The business alliance strives for more collaboration between horticultural and agricultural entrepreneurs, residents and the government.
Independent and impartial, the Dutch Horticultural Entrepreneur of the Year Awards started in 1986 in response to the rather difficult period following the recession of the 1980s, a gloomy period of low consumer confidence and unemployment in the Netherlands. Back then, the Dutch horticultural industry identified the need to recognise progressive growers who embrace technology, modern and sustainable production practices, market innovation, strong customer service and demonstrate their position as an industry leader.
Ronico’s achievement automatically qualifies the company for the 2027 AIPH International Grower of the Year Award (IGOTY) which will be held at the IPM Essen show taking place from 26 to 29 January 2027.
