Rose, Queen of the Flowers

Chrysal guarantees a shining life in a vase

The rose should get back to the place it belongs. Queen Rose deserves to be on her throne. Sales and marketing manager Simon Buis of Rosa Natura leaves no room for doubt: the rose has the most emotional value of all flowers. It stands out from the pack, not in the least because of the perception.

By Frank de Klerk

It is not merely a coincidence that the roses of rose nursery Rosa Natura are so beautiful and smell so nice. They grow on historical soil, where flowers were grown for the Royal House of Orange in the 17^th century already. 'It is almost sacred ground' over here, says Simon Buis. 'The “Lusthof (pleasure garden) Hontsholredick”, with the very first rosarium of the Netherlands was situated at precisely this location. The royal élan of the House of Orange is still wandering around. I hope that we can further develop this and promote it to the consumer.'

Rivalry

Rosa Natura is quite a substantial company. Often rivalry can be found amongst rose growers, regarding size of beauty of the organisations. But Simon sees it completely different: 'We want to create the best experience for the consumer and exceed all her expectations', says Buis. 'The rose is the most beautiful flower in terms of emotion and it connects people with each other. We want to deliver this message to the client. That is the reason why we use the designation “rosa&u” (Rosa and you). With the “&” symbol we want to create connections with the different parties in the chain. With one primary goal; a consumer who enjoys the products.

To accomplish this, we closely cooperate with various parties. Together we want to serve our buyers even better. Additionally, we want to let the final customer enjoy our marvellous large-flowered rose with her beautiful natural perfume for a longer period of time.'

Nurturing

With such a sensitive and beautiful product as the rose, a very careful way of operating is absolutely vital during the cultivation. 'We will first make sure that our own people are comfortable. When that is the case, they will also deal in a good way with our products', says Simon Buis. 'We particularly look at personal hygiene, but company hygiene as well. Our employees work in company clothing and they disinfect all harvest carts and harvest scissors several times per day. The roses follow a carefully laid out hygienic path, to protect them against harmful bacteria. In this way, the consumer can enjoy the rose in the best way possible. Visitors and employees all have to abide the hygienic protocol. In the beginning it took some time to get used to, but now it has become routine. Altogether we grow 25 million beautiful love roses. And we do it with dedication!'

Hygiene

To guarantee the hygiene in the supply chain, and in so doing prolong the vase life considerably (the so-called post harvest), Rosa Natura has sought and found cooperation with Chrysal. 'The consumer want to enjoy these beautiful flowers for ten days', says export manager Emile Dings of Chrysal. 'Our department of research and development has done tests to find out in what way we can keep flowers well for as long as possible. Chrysal employees have regularly visited Rosa Natura and have helped in the research during all stages. Based on the results of the audit, Chrysal has given a suitable advise about possible improvements regarding the after harvest process. A common point of concern for Chrysal and Rosa Natura is the multiple auction cask. It looks clean from the outside, but this is merely appearance. It is filled with bacterial life and these bacteria are anything but beneficial to the perishability of our carefully grown and harvested roses.' Chrysal and Rosa Natura have set up a protocol together to improve the quality and reduce bacteria growth.

This special cooperation has led to the fact that the consumer can bring home an exceptionally good quality of rosa&u roses.' Because of a good perishability the happiness with the rose lasts longer. 'When the client can enjoy it ten days or longer, he is happy for a longer period of time and will come back to the florist because of the good quality of the flower. Quality improvement is a sales opportunity. 'Top quality requires the commitment of the entire chain. Good nurturing and hygiene is of the utmost importance. That process starts with the grower and ends at the consumers house', says Emile Dings. 'In between are the exporter, wholesaler and florist. We try to get through to all these parties to nurture the flowers and plants well. In such a way the quality can be guaranteed. For instance: sixty percent of companies in the supply chain does not use any conditioners to keep the flowers and plants in good condition with themselves or at the consumer. In this lies a great challenge, but particularly a great opportunity!'

A beautiful example of the unique rose messages takes place in Delft. At the restaurants Le Mariage, de Pijpela and The Bounge, diners will only find red roses of rosa&u on the tables. Tourists purposefully visit these restaurants to take pictures of these roses. De chef Ed Hoogendijk shows our roses every episode of the television programme 'Nederland proeft' (Holland tastes). He explains the reason: “I can cook with more feeling thanks to your roses around me. And my guests experience the food different and with more feeling. They become cheerful and are filled with positivism. Often the first topic of conversation is the vase with roses on the table!”

Rosa&u represents a completely different experience. Our rose always opens completely and emits a pleasant perfume. This subtle aroma may help people to fall in love. Take a rose with you to a date and butterflies will be all over the stomach. Hand over one rose at a condolence and every recipient understands your emotion and message. The rose is thé flower for joy and sorrow. One red rose is worth a thousand words.' Dear reader: It is almost Valentine! Our advise: give it a try!