Schoneveld Breeding

Plants

Schoneveld Breeding has been around since 1930 and is a specialist in the cultivation of flowering pot plants such as Cyclamen, Primrose, Ranunculus and Campanula. With over 350 employees in the Netherlands (200) and Tanzania (150), the company is a prominent player in the global market. Customers from over 60 countries are supplied with seeds daily. This amounts to about 200 million seeds each year. Just to give you an idea: that’s two garbage containers’ worth of seeds.

Creating the perfect sustainable plant

Director Peter van de Pol has developed his own approach through his business, working on the perfect plant. ‘We tweak with plant DNA. For example, we cross-breed the plants to be more resilient so they require less fertilizer and stay in bloom longer,’ van der Pol explains. ‘We also work on the plant’s genetic make-up. We can change the positioning of the leaves or how compact they are, variables that significantly influence how much chemicals are required for further cultivation.’

Crossing and selection

Peter van der Pol continues: ‘It’s all about crossing and selection. Every year, we select the best male and female plants, and we cross them. And we will continue to do so until we have the ultimate plant.’ He compares protecting his business with a bike. ‘Let’s say you cross a racing bike with a mountain bike. You end up with a hybrid bike. But you can never convert it back to a racing bike. That’s the way it works for us as well. A competitor can’t simply run off with our products; it takes years to produce something like this.’

Unique collaborations throughout the supply chain for more sustainable breeds

Their services go further than just supplying the seeds. A high-quality product is a prerequisite, not a distinguishing factor. Schoneveld Breeding sets itself apart by maintaining partnerships throughout the entire supply chain. Peter van der Pol: ‘We offer growing, marketing and sales support where the grower takes centre stage.’ Because of this unique approach to supply chain collaboration, Schoneveld Breeding was awarded the prestigious International Grower of the Year award in 2014.

PlantXperience

Since January 2019, Schoneveld Breeding is located in the brand-new PlatXperience building, a location focused on innovation, education and inspiration. This new build, dubbed the ‘World Horti Center of the Eastern Netherlands’, forms the basis for the company’s further growth. Revenues are not only generated in the municipality of Voorst; 80% is generated internationally. ‘We export worldwide and have staff on all continents who know the local market well. They bring forth our supply chain collaboration philosophy that is so crucial for our business. Our after-sales and growing advice reaches growers across the globe.’ Schoneveld Breeding’s growth markets are Canada, the USA and China.