At the recently held NIMA Horticulture Event, the central question was: "To brand or not to brand?" Fred van der Hoeven (Royal Flora Holland), Ruud Boer (Brand Expert BV), and Mattijs Bodegom (Koppert) provided the over 130 horticultural marketers with various insights and practical examples.
The question of whether it is useful to develop a brand does not only apply to the horticulture sector but also in the fruit and vegetable market. In the horticulture sector, we can distinguish several types of brands, such as employer brand, registered variety or product name, trade label, B2B brand, and consumer brand. All these brand types need to meet three criteria to become successful: the brand has to be relevant, distinctive, and credible.
It's also important that the brand is visible in the distribution chain. If the flower sleeve disappears at the wholesalers, florists and consumers will never see the brand. The same goes for the tomato and strawberry boxes for private labels in the supermarket. Ruud Boer: "For this reason, investing in a consumer brand is usually not profitable in horticulture. However, creating preference through a strong trade brand is profitable. Also, the branding of the company, the employer brand, is of great importance to retain the right people and fill vacancies."
For more information:
Ruud Boer 
Brand Expert
Tel.: +31 (0)6 51 432 904
[email protected]
www.merk-expert.nl