Our flower business started with selling flowers.  The highest possible quality of product was always our objective.  When we started in 1999, the overall standard for the industry (specifically Thai orchids – formerly known as Singapore orchids) was fairly low.

People think orchids are hard to keep and hard to grow.  That is not exactly true.  Orchids are VERY sensitive to their growing environment.  Temperature, light, day and night cycles, seasonal temperature cycles – all these affect how orchids grow.  Most have a very narrow range of environmental conditions that support healthy growth.  Cut flower orchids, which was our product, are much more durable than people believe — at least the varieties that we were selling.

When flowers are cut, they BEGIN to die.  But, the dying process is slow for the type of orchids we were selling (Dendrobium, Mokara, Vanda, Oncidium).  So, with little care, exporters could get a marketable result, and US importers and florists had no choice but to accept whatever they could get.  Early in the development of our business, we began researching ways to slow the dying process.

Flowers, like vegetables, last longer when they are cool.  NOBODY in Thailand was cooling the flowers.  Also, after cutting, flowers need water and nutrients.  Thai farms and exporters were paying very little attention to this.

We looked to the largest international flower treatment company for advice.  At that time, they had none.  They were focused on larger segments of the flower industry: roses, carnations, daisies, plus many more.  Tropical orchids were not on their list.  A few years later, (maybe because WE asked?) they produced research and new trestment products which greatly improved the quality of our product.  We sought to become their Thailand importer and distributor.

In order to make our importing and distribution business successful and profitable, we conducted seminars for florists and horticulture students in several cities in various regions of Thailand, so they would understand the value of the products, and how to use them.