Travelling through South Africa with Odilia
Esther Mooij (Sales Manager) and Don van der Meer (Commercial Manager) from Coloriginz take you on a journey to South Africa. They visited several growers, discussed new developments with partners and — perhaps most importantly — saw first-hand the upcoming supply of special exotics for Odilia. Their route ran from Durban – Natal via Johannesburg to Cape Town.
The trip started at the farms of Windham Hill, our largest Nutan supplier in South Africa. Next stop was the South African flower auction Multiflora. Always fascinating to see how the domestic market is organized and which flowers dominate locally. In Pretoria, they visited our grass grower Semperflora. Grower Corné proudly showcased his stunning grasses.
In Cape Town, they visited various growers from Nutans and Proteas. In the evening, it was time for a “team update” with our Fresh From Source team in South Africa—of course accompanied by food and drinks!
Fieldwork! Together with growers and Caroline O’Brien (Managing Director of our partner Future Fynbos), they went into the field to look at potential new varieties. This collaboration is a joint effort: Odilia contributes with market insights, while Caroline and her team bring in the cultivation expertise.
Proteas are true South African flowers. The King Protea (King Madiba) is even the national symbol of the country. No wonder you can find Proteas here in more exclusive supermarkets.
Work hard, play hard. During the trip, one of our suppliers treated us to a night safari. What an adventure! The whole journey was an incredible experience.
