Gianfranco Fenoglio at the IFTF in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands.
Shift to Colombia
"Before 1999, we only supplied European carnation growers, but due to the decrease in number of European carnation growers we started to look for other markets," says Fenoglio of La Villetta. "At that time, the produced volumes of carnations were increasing, which offered us opportunities. So, from 1999 onwards, we started to travel to Colombia to learn more about the market. In 2010 we established our new facility in Colombia. Over the years, this facility grew and now, only 15 percent of our young plants are being produced in Italy and 85 percent in Colombia," says Fenoglio.
Different market different tastes
Different markets have different tastes. This is something Fenoglio came across when supplying his young plant carnations to the Colombian growers. "The United States, Russia, Japan and the United Kingdom are very important markets for Colombian carnation growers. The customer preferences in these markets are different and are sometimes far apart. The Russians, for example, like big flowers with contrasting colors and the Japanese prefer pastel colors with round petals," says Fenoglio. Therefore, La Villetta had to adjust their breeding process in order to meet these different demands.
Also supplying Japanese growers
As well as supplying the Colombian growers, La Villetta also supplies increasingly more Japanese growers. "The Japanese customers are demanding for high quality carnations. Therefore, the demand for high quality cuttings from the growers is increasing too," explains Fenoglio. For these reason La Villetta started to ship rooted cuttings to Japan. "Fortunately, our Colombian growers already produce carnations for the Japanese markets, so we know and have the desired carnation varieties in our assortment. In the future, we would like to expand this market and supply more Japanese growers."
For more information
La Villetta
Gianfranco Fenoglio
Email: [email protected]
www.lavillettasrl.it