The Poinsettias produced by the Italian breeder Lazzeri have successfully landed overseas. While investments in the Sabaudia, Italy plants are stepping up, the campaign to enter Japan has already started.
Customers in Italy and Europe have already showed appreciation for the “Lazzeri” genetics. Thanks to its expertise in hybridization and production of young pot plants, Lazzeri is quite confident of the quality of its production, especially when it comes to its award-winning Poinsettias. In fact, at the recent Kwaliteits competities Poinsettias held in the Netherlands, three out of six of Lazzeri genetics won for the third year in a row in the varietal comparison challenge, sponsored by Glastuinbouw Nederland and Royal Floral Holland.
A good start is half the work
The company kicked off 2022 with the right foot. After being busy with corporate reorganization in recent years, the "Lazzeri Società Agricola a.R.L." of entrepreneur Franco Dallago can now capitalize on its vast experience and notoriety to open up new and promising markets. Operational management remains entrusted to manager Adriano Gobetti, the company's CEO. “We are investing to modernize and strengthen our nurseries in Sabaudia - Italy,” explains Gobetti. “There, we have moved all production, for a while. The management offices and the R&D department remain in the historic location of Merano.”
Lazzeri is very much focused on research. “Of the twelve million in annual turnover, one is reinvested in activities to identify, experiment, and develop new varieties,” continues the CEO. "To that end, we have worked towards increasing our operational efficiency. We have recently replaced the old boilers by introducing LPG, which is less polluting. We also purchased two state-of-the-art equipment for packaging operations in the Netherlands. Our intent is to continue investing to improve our environmental sustainability and automate production processes. Indeed, we will soon install photovoltaic panels.”
Although the rise in the price of raw materials gives rise to some concern, economic results are encouraging and the company intends to make further progress. «Numbers give us confidence, now we cannot and must not stop. At this pace, we will soon have to start expanding the production site”. The results from overseas also give hope. “We are very satisfied,” comments the global product manager Andrea Lazzeri. “In a short time, we've received a lot of appreciation, from both distributors and growers."
Trans-atlantic expansion
To promote their own Poinsettias genetics, the Italian company signed partnerships and collaborations with some US key players. In December 2021, Italian managers traveled throughout the States to visit producers, growers, and distributors that work with commercial varieties from the Agro-Pontino, an agricultural area in center Italy. "It was an intense and at times tiring journey", says Andrea Lazzeri, "yet, full of satisfaction". The main distribution partners of Poinsettias in the USA are Syngenta and Ball-Selecta. "Both are giving us great recognition." The American tour started in Monroeville, New Jersey, where Lucas Greenhouses, producer and distributor of young plants, operates. "We took advantage of the Poinsettia Day events, which at the beginning of December involved many different American nurseries,” explains Andrea Lazzeri. "The following day we went to visit Plantpeddler Wholesale, in Cresco, Iowa, and the next day Millstadt Young Plants / N.G. Heimos GHS, in Millstadt, Illinois. Two other producers and distributors of young plants have included our Poinsettias in their catalog.” On December 4th, it was the turn of Green Circle Growers, in Oberlin, Ohio. "It is one of the largest horticultural producers in the country, an extremely interesting reality for us considering that it produces about 1,500,000 potted Poinsettias and distributes its products throughout the North of the USA".
After Ohio, they stopped in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "There, we visited Mast Young Plants and Henry Mast Greenhouses. The former is another large producer of Poinsettias, while the latter is a medium-large company, capable of producing high-quality plants and approaching the market in an innovative way".
On 7 December, the tour turned back to the Atlantic coast. First stop in North Carolina, in Huntersville, at Metrolina Greenhouses. "It is the number one in the US. This is one of the largest producers of Poinsettias, producing about 3,000,000 potted Poinsettias every year". After that, they headed towards Georgia to meet Sun-Belt Greenhouse, in Douglas. Finally, they landed in Florida, in Homestead, a suburb south of Miami close to the Everglades National Park, the last stop of the journey. “There we were expected by Costa Farms, another large US producer. This visit was very useful because it allowed us to test the particular conditions in which we must operate in South Florida. We could observe how our poinsettia genetics adapt themselves to this extreme climate. In Europe, the climate isn’t tropical like here. While with some varieties we are already on the right track, we still need some time to further research this.”
In the most eastern outskirts of the USA, the Poinsettia actually finds a habitat similar to the original one. The plant was indeed discovered in Mexico by the American Joel Roberts Poinsett, hence the name, around 1828. From there, it spread first to North America, then to Europe, and then the rest of the world.
At this point, Lazzeri will most likely head west, towards California and the West Coast. From there, the company will proceed towards the Indo-Pacific region, now considered by many to be the center of global competition. It is no coincidence that the company's genetics have already landed in Japan, which for many Western companies is the port of departure for reaching the Asian market.
For more information:
LAZZERI SOCIETÀ AGRICOLA A R.L
T: +39 0473 246246
Email: [email protected]
www.lazzeri-agricola.com