The Red Lands Roses Story: Its History and Its People

A top grower is known not only by its fine products but also by the people that produce these products. One cannot go without the other. Red Lands Roses has built a reputation for producing its Haute Couture Roses for more than a quarter-century now. An incredibly long time at the top in a fast-paced, multicultural and multinational floricultural world. That is simply not possible without the dedication of so many skilled and loyal people. Any entrepreneur knows that people are the real lifeline of a company, from the harvester to the buncher and the CEO. In this Red Lands Roses Story, you get a unique insight into one of the world's finest and conscious rose-growing teams.

The Red Lands Roses Story

Red Lands Roses was established in 1996 in Ruiru, 35km Northeast of Nairobi, Kenya. The altitude of above 2,000m and the proximity to the equator are ideal conditions for the cultivation of roses. They specialize in growing and exporting garden and spray roses of the highest quality in a range of more than 200 varieties. Red Lands Roses is internationally recognized for its green horticulture that respects people and the environment. Their roses are grown on 28 hectares of land in over 20 greenhouses on a 100% hydroponic system with full recycling of water, preventing rejects of phosphates and nitrates from seeping into groundwater.

At the Heart: The People

At the heart of the farm’s structure are a deep commitment to its people and their well-being. When asked about their experiences at Red Lands Roses, its staff brighten up as they tell stories of their best days at the farm. Here are a few revelations from some members of the Red Lands Roses team.

Patrick Mburu: Production Manager

Patrick has worked in Red Lands Roses as the Production Manager for the last 4 years. He loves being with roses on the farm not only because of their beauty but because as he says: "They are able to communicate and my job is to observe, listen and help." His goal is to ensure that the production at the farm always meets the market demand and the quality is exceptional.

Beatrice Wangui: Greenhouse Supervisor

Beatrice has worked in Red Lands Roses for 18 years. These have been years of perfecting her relationship with the delicate plants she tends to. Her favorite task is selective bending, a process she loves because in her words: "This directly impacts the quality of the stems harvested". If she bends properly and on time, the end result is strong stems of magnificent quality. Beatrice's goal is to educate all her children until university level before she reaches retirement age. This, she adds, is made possible by the farm’s School Fees program that facilitates the payment of school fees for children of school-going age.

Jared Obure: Continuous Quality Improvement Manager (CQIM)

Jared has worked in Red Lands Roses as the CQIM for the last 2 years. His ideal day is one where clients are satisfied with the quality of roses they receive and all quality control team members are adequately trained. His goal is to have a team of quality controllers who are focused on the clients’ needs and therefore do all they can to ensure that each stem a client receives is of premium quality.

Scolastica Gikonyo: Post Harvest Manager

Scolastica has worked in Red Lands Roses for 20 years. She loves the great team of professionals she works with and looks forward to the day that the quality of flowers from Red Lands Roses and clients’ satisfaction is unmatched by any other farm in the world. Her favorite part of her job is following up on the flow of flowers in the supply chain ensuring that the processing of flowers is seamless and packaging is done as per each client’s specifications. Her goal is to maintain the brand of Red lands Roses as a niche flower farm whose roses are known the world over.

Sylvia Kamonya: Buncher

Sylvia has worked in Red Lands Roses for 6 years as a buncher. Every day for these 6 years she has held roses in her hands and ensured the quality standards are met before arranging them neatly in a bunch according to each client’s specification. She loves that her job takes all her concentration and her entire being is in the roses she tends to. Sylvia loves it when all her bunches are perfect. From her income at the farm, she plans to set up her own business to complement and improve her family’s living standards.

Irene Nkatha: Sales Manager

Irene has worked in Red Lands Roses for the last 10 years. Her best days at work are when production is at its peak and all clients’ orders are fulfilled. Through her work at Red Lands Roses, she hopes to contribute to clients' satisfaction by ensuring exceptional service and order delivery.

Dorcas Gathura: Marketing Officer

Dorcas has worked in Red Lands Roses for 2 years. When asked what she likes the most about her job, she immediately says that it is her marketing job that requires her to catch up on trends in the floral industry, tasks that require her to work with world-renowned floral designers like Catherine Joyaux Corselli and Mickaël Rault, and promotion of new varieties to clients. Her goal is to make the whole world aware of the people at Red Lands Roses who work daily to ensure that a quality stem reaches our clients. Their work as, as she says, is noble and worthy of recognition.

Samuel Njuguna: Chief Financial Officer

Samuel has worked in Red Land Lands Roses for close to 5 years now. He loves that he supports the operations and the management teams with analyzed data to guide their decision-making in order to increase productivity and quality of their work. His goal at the farm is to continuously increase shareholders' value, ensure full compliance to tax and other regulatory authorities, and guide his team to higher carrier growth and job satisfaction.

Elizabeth Kirigo: Senior Accountant

Elizabeth joined Red Lands Roses 12 months ago, a year she describes as exciting since she gets to work with a vibrant team, and build mutual relationships with stakeholders. She hopes to develop her financial knowledge and skills enough to develop and improve the processes at the farm.

Douglas Mungai: IT Manager

Douglas joined Red Lands Roses 15 years ago and is the true definition of a problem solver. He loves days when the server is up and running, and there are no technical hitches that hinder smooth operations at the farm.

Milkah Wambui: IT Assistant

Milkah joined Red Lands Roses in 2019. She describes her 2 years at the farm as ones that have propelled her to grow as she works with professionals who can challenge her and create opportunities for her. Milkah's goal here at Red Lands Roses is to provide support to all the teams that need her while developing her career in IT and admin.

Paul Kiarie: HR Manager

Paul joined Red Lands Roses 5 years ago and derives immense satisfaction from his work in a company that he describes as results-oriented and aimed at achieving the best quality of roses. He looks forward to a day when the synergy in the Red Lands Roses staffing will result in a farm that is known the world over for its production of unique and rare roses.

Lilian Kurgat: HR Officer

Lilian joined Red Lands Roses for 11 years as a scout in the Integrated Pest Management department. She was later promoted to the HR Officer in charge of payroll. She loves that her job allows her to interact with people from a personal level and she derives immense joy from helping them navigate challenges at work. Lilian's goal is to become an expert in human resource management and be able to mold a motivated workforce necessary to achieve the company’s growth.

Isabelle Spindler: General Manager

When she started Red Lands Roses in 1996, her idea was to produce unique elegant roses, with excellent vase life and to supply directly the florists, importers, wholesalers, and decorators with exclusivity in each country. This is the strategy upon which she developed the farm over the years. Her favorite part of her job is working with the staff at the farm, and especially the fact that the farm employs very many women. Her goal is to deliver perfection to our clients without harming the environment, and the team that makes all work here possible.

Disha Copreaux: Chief Executive Officer

Disha joined Red Lands Roses as the CEO. She loves that senior management is accessible to all employees on the farm and information is transparent, which makes for a positive and constructive work environment. Her goal is to ensure that Red Lands Roses remains a friendly employer that values its workers and its clients.

Aldric Spindler: Executive Director

Aldric joined Red Lands Roses 15 years ago as the Executive director. He loves the diversity in the Red Lands Roses team – the people’s background, skills, cultures, and ambitions. He marvels at the fact that he still learns new things every day at the farm. His goal is to ensure that the work done by the extraordinary team of experts at Red Lands Roses is recognized the world over.