"Our garden roses are now available in stems measuring 53cm and 63cm. Reflecting on our journey, it's truly amazing to see the evolution of our roses since the late 1990s, when they were pure garden roses and mainly just 20cm", says Cindy Cooper of Tambuzi, a Kenyan garden rose grower. Since the establishment in the mid-1990's it was their goal to introduce garden roses to the flower market directly and they now ship them all over the world, from Sydney to Vancouver.
How it all started
It all started in the mid-1990s with Tim and Maggie Hobbs – a young and dynamic couple with Kenyan roots - who came across a beautiful, derelict farm on the foothills of Mount Kenya only miles from the Equator, explains Cooper. "The 64-hectare farm, originally producing dairy and beef, was up for sale and with its perfect conditions for growing roses, the Hobbs couple bought it and decided to start growing garden roses. It was their goal to introduce garden roses to the flower market. And they have always sold directly and never through the auction. They started exporting to the The Real Flower Company in the UK and then developed hubs into Netherlands and Dubai."
Where they are now
Today, Tambuzi has three farms across Nanyuki, with 20 hectares (50 acres) of production, all at different altitudes. "This helps for growing different varieties", Cooper continues. "Some roses thrive at Pendekeza (2400m altitude) while others prefer the climate at Burguret (2000m altitude)." Over the years they developed themselves to a specialist supplier of traditional garden scented roses, shipping them worldwide. "From Australia to Uzbekistan, everywhere in the world, we see a demand for English garden roses." Also, they recently became a B Corp Certified business. This certification is awarded to companies that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.Click here for more information on this certification and Tambuzi's journey towards it.
Most challenging year
According to Cooper, the farm's most challenging year was 2020, when Covid totally shut down the event floral industry. "It was a very tough time as we obviously had to keep growing our roses and looking after them, and then we'd just have to turn them into compost. We therefore also diversified and grew vegetables for the local market and sold many stems locally. Fortunately, no one lost their job, as our directors and staff came together during this challenging time. We implemented a company-wide half-day pay policy to ensure everyone's employment was preserved."
Assortment and trends
The demand for their roses has continued to grow over the years and therefore their assortment too. "Worldwide, we have seen that consumers and florists' love for garden roses has grown, so we had to expand our assortment so that we can suit the demands from the different markets. Currently, they grow a broad range of scented garden roses and spray garden roses.
And regarding this latter category, they have seen the demand growing significantly. "We've always been passionate about growing spray roses, and we have noticed the demand for spray roses has continued to increase. Especially long-stemmed varieties."
And when talking about the stem length of the roses, they are very proud that they can now offer garden roses with longer stems. "Traditionally garden roses were grown with very short stems, when we started we sold some varieties with stems as short as 20cm. So it is quite remarkable that we are now selling them with such long stems to suit the market. The whole assortment is now available in 53 and 63 cm stems." And the demand is good. "We have developed the market of the longer stems and they are now sought after."
And in particular, they are seeing an increase in demand for their Princess Garden Roses collection. "It is a unique collection of Japanese bred roses."
Bombastic
How was 2024?
For Tambuzi, the wedding season is their high season. "Traditional key dates are important, but the wedding season is our true time to shine." So how was 2024? According to Cooper, a good year, with good demand. And as they cater different markets, there is always demand from somewhere. "Now, Europe has naturally slowed with winter coming but the Middle East picks up, so we are happy overall. And currently, we are preparing to supply for Turkey Table Centres."
What about 2025?
For next year, they expect the demand to continue to increase. "Also as we are looking into some new and exciting markets across the globe. In general, we are seeing the demand for garden roses increase, especially the more fragrant varieties. Which we still grow a large selection of."
For more information
Tambuzi
www.tambuzi.co.ke