Born and raised into flowers. Though initially, he wanted to branch out, flowers kept calling and he said yes. This week's 10 questions on Thursd introduce you to the thriving career of Simon van der Burg, director of a new rose farm, Florapura Roses.
Celebrating their first anniversary at the Royal FloraHolland auction, since inception Simon has strived to be different and provide a unique offering to the market. He is reflecting on their one-year journey with Florapura Roses while sharing different insights into his way of life. Read on to learn about Simon's floral career journey and the progress he has made thus far with his rose farm in Naivasha, Kenya.
Question 1
For those who don’t know you, who are you, and what do you do?
"My name is Simon van der Burg I'm 42 years old. I was born in Kenya but grew up and did schooling in the Netherlands since I was 3. Growing up in a flower-embedded family, the connection with flowers happened since the early days I can remember. Though never saw myself ending up working in this industry. But a self-arranged holiday job working for the breeder Rosen Tantau/van Kleef in the Netherlands changed that.
After working and seeing different countries and parts of the industry as breeding, sales, marketing, sourcing, and production, such as Kenya, the Netherlands, and Australia I finally got hooked on the growing roses and settled in Naivasha, Kenya with my wife and kids.
Looking around several parts of Kenya Naivasha became the preferred location. Trying to find a sweet spot where quality and production can be optimized. It's here where Florapura was born, my own rose-growing farm, which is now one year since its inception."
Question 2
What is so special about your job?
"The smile on my face. Some people say they are passionate, in my case people see in every aspect the passion I have for what I do. I strive for the highest level of standards and build the best team around me to achieve this. Starting a farm from scratch has its challenges, but the freedom to build decide, and create a fresh setup has been amazing.
The interesting thing is, that my vision of how to see a rose farm, has completely changed since we broke ground up to today where we have 9 ha planted.
There is not one way to run a rose farm and I have seen both sides of the scale. From large-scale farming and in my case the more boutique style. Variety selection is a crucial part of farming and it’s an area I love to deal with. Contemplating colors, shapes, yield, and market. I really want to aim to add something to the market, not just more of the same."
Question 3
Are there any specific challenges or obstacles you’ve faced at work, and how did you overcome them?
"Some years back I wouldn’t have imagined me starting up my own rose farm. Now with Florapura Roses all my experience and perseverance have come together and so far I can say not too bad! Challenges were definitely there, the euro was at an all-time low, family challenges, costs in farming rising by the day, and air freight increasing by 30%. The times of entering the business were far from easy. It's support from close business/personal friends and family that I always got the feeling it would come together.
But after just a year of existence, the brand Florapura is slowly finding its way and it's here to stay!"
Question 4
What are the threats in the industry, and if so, do you have any solutions for them?
"Threats for the industry come in many ways. Many of them are outside our control, as we have seen the climate has such a detrimental effect on production and the market. But I see a huge impact on how the farm is managed in dealing with such situations.
Where periods of high prices are due to weather-related collapse of production. Being ahead of the game with diseases management sets the farms apart. I see many larger farms struggling to adapt to more extreme weather challenges. Furthermore, the usual suspects are forex and air freight. As I mentioned earlier starting in a worst-case scenario helps set a higher standard for yourself to start with.
Besides the financial challenges, the ever-increasing focus is on environmental impact. We are always looking at ways to minimize the negative impact a farm could have. The development of biological control for diseases and pests is not yet where I'd like to see it and in my opinion, sea freight has not reached the quality reliability level yet."
Question 5
How has technology like e-commerce platforms or digital marketing affected your industry, which strategies have you employed to stay competitive?
"I believe it has made our industry far more transparent and impacted further in the chain. We supply solely through the Royal FloraHolland auction system. Nowadays the customers can decide for themselves the products they want instead of the buyer having the final say. The good or the bad of this trend is that I see a more fragmented supply of the market far more varieties and fewer volumes per product. This has resulted that I have opted for a broader assortment and looking back this strategy has been beneficial for Florapura Roses."
Question 6
Who (in or outside the floral industry) is an inspiring example to you? And Why?
"If I'm really honest I have several persons, my experiences at several companies I’ve worked for and with and the different aspects of the industry I was exposed to have been highly valuable to who I am today and have contributed to my current visions.
To mention one is Alessandro Ghione of Nirp International has been and still is a key person in my daily floral career. It was at his company I had my first full-time job. Through him and working for his company I have seen and learned and met many interesting people from different countries. Being exposed to the world of rose breeders has helped me get an idea of what varieties to select. "
Question 7
How do you handle stress or difficult moments in your life?
"Firstly, a solid partner, my wife Laura who can relate, discuss, and come up with ideas on the way forward. But secondly, I have probably learned more about myself now that I have children. Besides the continuous testing of your patience, they give/demand you a level of commitment you don’t have towards yourself.
Besides my wife who can actively assist in tougher times and scenarios, it’s the children that give you clarity on prioritizing what’s important. So however long your day is, it's time to switch and focus on the family, what's important to them hear their stories and what’s going on in their world. The key is to find a healthy balance, even for me that’s sometimes a tough one!"
Question 8
What has been the best (floral or non-floral) news for you lately, or of the last year?
"If it’s the best news I'm not sure but it is surely a moment to reflect and be proud we have reached our first anniversary with Florapura Roses at Royal FloraHolland in Rijnsburg. Starting last year and introducing ourselves to the market with 6 varieties to give a basket of standard colors.
In the second phase, Florapura Roses will introduce another six varieties in a more diverse color range. So currently available in our portfolio are: Rose Paloma, Rose Paloma Steffi, Rose Ramonda, Rose Countdown!, Rose Red Tacazzi+, Rose Solarflare, Rose Renaissance, Rose Attraction, Rose Salty Caramel, Rose Peaches, Rose Marosa, and soon to be introduced; Rose Paladio."
Question 9
Which is your favorite flower/plant and why is it good for you?
"It may be no surprise as I really favor roses. My current favorite rose variety is Rose Renaissance which is a large pink standard rose from Rosen Tantau/ van Kleef Kenya.
It’s the color pink I was looking for and besides good growing characteristics I believe this rose has a great future ahead in the market. Why I chose it because of the color and the quality of the flowers, for me to make it a commercial variety it must grow well and able to be transported well, which the variety Renaissance does. Only after seeing it growing as a trial I was convinced I had to grow it commercially."
Question 10
What are you doing this weekend?
"For the weekend I have planned to visit the farm in the morning hours, as we are celebrating our one year since the official Royal FloraHolland introduction we are organizing a small get-together for all our employees who work hard every day to make our roses possible.
then thereafter going with the family to a local swimming pool, as our kids never get bored and it’s a nice time for us to enjoy and clear the mind."
All pictures courtesy of Simon van der Burg.
