Guests gather meaningful insights from DFG’s 25th birthday bash

Jan van Dam, CEO of Dutch Flower Group, joins in a toast to the 25th anniversary of Dutch Flower Group.

For a quarter of a century, floral wholesale giant Dutch Flower Group has evolved and adapted to meet the ever-changing market while keeping the Van Zijverden and Van Duyn families committed to and capable of continuing as owners. The company celebrated its silver jubilee in June with a grand event.

A packed audience of 400 growers, suppliers, customers, and government officials gathered at the SugarFactory near Amsterdam on 20 June to reflect on the past and, more importantly, to look forward to the floriculture industry’s future.

Outgoing Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher made a surprise appearance.

DFG emerged in 1999 when Aalsmeer-based OZ Group and Van Duijn Group from Naaldwijk joined forces.

DFG’s Jan van Dam, who became CEO of the group of 30 companies in January 2021, began by thanking former DFG CEO Marco van Zijverden for his presence. Marco is the son of the illustrious Klaas van Zijverden, who established OZ Group in 1959. The latter earned a name in servicing wholesale companies worldwide and importing flowers from all corners of the world.

Van Dam equally thanked Jaap van Duijn for attending the joyful event. Jaap and his brother, the late and amiable Art van Duijn, founded Van Duijn Group’s forerunner, Superflora, in 1969. Back then, Superflora was one of the first wholesalers to sell flowers and plants to mass-market retailers.

Looking back over the past 25 years, Van Dam’s key conclusion was that the corporate marriage between the two family businesses has withstood the test of time, attributing its success to ‘liberty as a foundation to entrepreneurship’,  combining knowledge, experience and skills. “Two heads are better than one and today this collaborative approach towards customers, employees, and supplying growers is as relevant as 25 years ago.”

DFG feels particularly proud of being the biggest in the world when it comes to trade specialism. For reference, in 1999, Van Duijn and OZ Group combined had revenues of nearly €250 mn and between 500-600 employees. 25 years later, this figure is €2bn, a joint effort of 5,000 employees worldwide who trade an estimated 75 million cut flower stems per week.

Van Dam looked back with pride but also forward as he spoke about the acceleration of the group’s digital strategy, a unified approach to end-to-end supply chain planning (with more efficient sea freight and bouquet manufacturing being key elements), and the company’s ongoing commitment to net-zero emissions across its entire value chain.

Outgoing Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher, the first minister to make history in the Dutch political arena by going on maternity leave last year, made a surprise appearance.

She highlighted how DFG occupies pride of place in the agricultural landscape of the Dutch economy.

She praised the business conglomerate’s resilience in a ‘new and unpredictable era’ marked by wars, high energy costs, and a consumer tightening its purse strings. The minister, who was succeeded by Reinette Klever on Tuesday, 2 July, when Dutch King Willem-Alexander swore in a new ruling coalition, also applauded DFG’s presence in Africa, which helps secure jobs, increase economic growth, and support agricultural development.

Panel session left to right Arne Bac, Adri Bom-Lemstra, Boyd Muijs, and Hugo Noordhoek.

Next, DFG’s chief marketing officer/chief sustainability officer, Marcel Zandvliet, moderated a ‘DFG Talks’ panel session discussing consumer behaviour, sustainability, and innovation with ornamental horticulture. Panel members included Arne Bac (Rabobank), Adri Bom-Lemstra (Glastuinbouw Nederland), Boyd Muijs (Lidl International), and Hugo Noordhoek Hegt (Dümmen Orange).

Boyd Muijs, international purchase director fresh produce and ornamentals at Lidl (€125.5  billion turnover, 12,500 stores in 31 countries in 2023) described how in the age of a fickle, elusive and critical shopper, consumer retention is crucial. Lidl’s quality of fresh fruit and vegetables is a driving factor for customers mostly interested in good value for money. And that concept is no different in flower and plant sales, which Muijs touted as an important category.

The identity of consumers, in particular Millennials and Generation Z (the cohort comprising people between 1996 and 2010), has been influenced by climate angst, the digital era, and COVID-19. So, their preoccupation with healthy, good-quality products and sustainability is important.

With this in mind, Muijs urged the sector to get ready for due diligence, which, he says, is getting really big in Germany.

Under due diligence, retailers will be required to publicly disclose information about environmental matters including carbon emission, biodiversity, and how their company impacts social factors such as human rights, working conditions, equality, and non-discrimination in the value chain. Muijs said, “We are expected to have a reliable and documented grasp of our entire supply chain, and this requires transparency, traceability and lots of data. It’s something we cannot achieve on our own and requires collaboration with all our suppliers. Under the impending EU legislation, when something is wrong we can risk fines that can amount to two per cent of our annual turnover.”

Our guess was that the many growers in the room also would have been interested to hear more about Lidl’s strategy when choosing the price point for flowers and plants as stories about growers hitting out at supermarkets for ‘squeezing them’ frequently make headlines. Unfortunately, there was no time either to discuss Lidl Netherlands’ 2022 decision to ban all air freight fresh produce supply and how it may impact, for example, Lidl’s air freighted roses from Africa, which today continue to be transported by aeroplane.

According to Rabobank’s Arne Bac, who is also an arable crop farmer in daily life, one of the sector’s major challenges lies in adequately responding to mounting societal pressure. Flowers have always been used to convey emotions, and within 10 years, that will be no different. However, consumers are increasingly aware of ethical and accountability issues. “They begin questioning the relevance of gardening, of flowers. So, it’s about how to translate the value the sector offers in terms of sustainability and climate change.”

Adri Bom-Lemstra, chairman of the industry body Glastuinbouw Nederland and one of the chamberlains the Dutch King has in each province, encourages the sector to further tap into technological innovation of which she saw shining examples when visiting growers. She also mentioned the industry’s far-reaching impact. Flowers not only provide beauty but also well-being and health.”

Hugo Noordhoek, who recently stepped down as Dümmen Orange’s CEO but is still a member of the company’s Supervisory Board, believes that developing ornamental plants and flowers with resistance to biotic and abiotic stress is the way for the sector to go forward.

Noordhoek says to be shocked about the shrinkage as seen in mass market flower and plant selling. More recently, Dümmen Orange granted fellow plant breeder and propagator Select One from Germany a license to breed and market Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) resistant Petunia varieties. TMV is a dreaded disease in petunias and more resilient varieties will help reduce the loss of inventory at retail.

Adding of touch of fun was a drum act by Splash/Lucifer.

A percussion act by Splash/Lucifer added a touch of fun. This was followed by a presentation by futurologist Christian Kromme, who used nature as a roadmap for human and technological acceleration. For the uninitiated, his presentation offered a rundown of Artificial Intelligence, interspersed by AI examples as seen in horticulture. At the very beginning, the question of AI being a threat was raised.

Futurologist  Christian Kromme used nature as a roadmap for human and technological acceleration.

As the event drew to a close, attendees reflected on the new technology,  and business ideas during a networking reception.