One Flora Group and Connecting Lilies announce collaboration to expand lily portfolio

Left to right:: Danny Bischoff (Connecting Lilies), Leon Duijvestijn (Lilies Direct) and Sven Aertssen (One Flora Group), amid the lily beds at wholly-owned lily nursery Leko.

AALSMEER, Netherlands: One Flora Group, distributor and importer of fresh cut flowers and plants, and Connecting Lilies, a business alliance incorporating three major Dutch cut lily nurseries, have announced a collaboration to develop and market a vast range of lilies.

Through the agreement, effective 1 July 2022, One Flora Group and Connecting Lilies have created an excellent collaboration, combined expertise, and a more efficient organisation. It also allows the companies to expand their horizons with geographic diversification. The new partnership will give customers additional purchasing options, an increased level of service and a far wider diversity of lily offerings.

One Flora Group emerged in June 2022, when Groenland Holding, consisting of Celieplant, Bouquetnet, Bloominess and Greenpacker, and L&M Group announced their merger.

One Flora Group combines the experience, expertise and supply networks of cut flower and houseplant specialists Bloominess, Bouquetnet, Celieplant, Direct Flower Solutions, Spira, VE Bloemengroothandel, Waxed Roses Sensation, FlowerFactory, Greenpackers Bloominess, Greenpackers Bouquetnet, L&M Transport, L&M Rijnsburg, Lilies Direct, Zami, and Growing Together.

The merger allows the newly formed company to optimise its sourcing through L&M Group and tap into Groenland’s massive global network.

One Flora Group sells flowers and plants to retailers, wholesalers and consumers worldwide and generates an annual turnover amounting to more than €400 million. This sales figure places the company among the Netherlands’s top 10 largest floral wholesalers. The management’s ambition is to achieve sustainable and transparent business growth.

Based on its many years of expertise in lily growing,  Connecting Lilies – consists of Dutch-based lily growers Kwekerij Paul Sonneveld from ’s-Gravenzande, Jos van Zanten from Poeldijk, and Spain-based Meijflor from Almeria – offers European retailers high-quality Longiflorums, Asiatics, LA-hybrids, Orientals and OT-hybrids.

As part of this strategic collaboration, One Flora Group will bolster its presence in the UK, a tried-and-trusted market for Connecting Lilies.

One Flora Group is not new in the lily business as its Lilies Direct division sources farm fresh lilies directly from the grower.