"There is once again a great demand for outdoor plants"

4 and 5 February saw the Spring Edition of Plantarium|Groen-Direkt. Together with the adjacent Groen-Direkt sample fair, the trade event was characterized by a surprisingly positive market mood.

Board member Hans Cok looks back on the fair with satisfaction: "There is once again a great demand for outdoor plants. Garden centers are looking forward to spring and growers are ready for it. This was immediately evident from the large number of early visitors who, throughout both days, generated a lot of traffic and turnover both in the stands and at the layer fair."

The trade fair distinguishes itself by the wide and diverse range among the approximately 175 exhibitors where growers can profile themselves in combination with the trade fair where buyers have the opportunity to compare products, something that is becoming increasingly difficult online.

Exhibitors look back on the fair with satisfaction. "The second day was busier this year than last year," reports Kwekerij Wouters.

Robert Hooftman of WM J. Hooftman agrees: "We received both existing and new customers. The interest from Poland and Slovakia was particularly striking this year, which shows that the fair is reaching new markets."

Success for new exhibitors
Several new companies also participated in the fair this year. Henri-Jet VOF chose Plantarium|Groen-Direkt to be more actively present at fairs itself and to increase sales. Agapanthus BV, run by young entrepreneurs Tim and Lauren, was first introduced to the fair to reach European garden plant buyers.

"We heard a lot of enthusiastic comments about the fair and wanted to discover who we could reach here. The organisation was excellent and our stand was neatly prepared for us. Now that we have been here, our conclusion is clear: We will definitely come back next year, and maybe we should participate in August after all!" said Tim.

Rhododendron 'Maximus' wins Green Retail Award
Rhododendron 'Maximus' by Leybaert was voted Visitor's Favourite by trade visitors and won the Green Retail Award. The compact, hardy and disease-resistant plant with large buds that will soon show large, fire-red flowers was widely appreciated.

Breeder Silas Crezée responds enthusiastically: "This is a wonderful recognition of 12 years of breeding work. The plant is now available in 2 liters, and soon we will also introduce a purple, pink and white variant."

Theme: Does a brand work?
A theme at the fair was "Does a brand work?". At the Green Future Hub on the exhibition floor, Masja Pit of Hortipoint surveyed the value of brands for plants. "The responses were diverse, which gave us all kinds of questions that we want to investigate further in the coming period, including with consumers," said Pit. The results of this research will be presented during the Autumn Edition of the fair.

Tuinbranche Nederland visits fair with KIEM training
Marc Luning of Tuinbranche Nederland visited the fair together with 70 green professionals from garden centers. After a plenary session, the participants visited various stallholders.

"Current topics such as climate and crop protection are discussed. Adapting the product to this is not something you do as Tuinbranche Nederland, as a garden center or as a grower. You do that together. This branch thinking was excellently expressed during the fair. If we work together in this way, we have gold in our hands!" Luning said.

27 and 28 August Autumn Edition
The upcoming edition of Plantarium|Groen-Direkt will take place on 27 and 28 August. At this Autumn Edition, the emphasis is traditionally a little more on establishing and maintaining relationships. Long-term trade also gets more attention here. Nevertheless, August will also see an extensive Groen-Direkt sample fair, with a lot of trading.

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