Benefiting from MPS certifications, the RB Plant Consortium has conquered German, French and northern European garden centers. “The original idea of my father Angelo and my uncle Antonio was not to focus on large retailers, which we now see was a be successful decision,” says Francesca Bruzzone, President of Bruzzone RB Plant Consortium.
Francesca Bruzzone, President of Bruzzone RB Plant Consortium
The company was born in 1994 and exports the majority of their total production to Germany, France and north-eastern Europe, thanks to a wide range of certified quality potted plants, flowers and aromatic herbs. “The idea of serving exclusively garden centers and very few wholesalers allowed us to preserve quality regardless of the price,” explains Bruzzone. A choice that allowed them to successfully enter the German market, which in their opinion seeks quality more than others. “In addition to certification, we have also launched our brand ‘Sunny heRBs’ in Germany, to distinguish our aromatic line, verified with laboratory tests to demonstrate restrictions on the use of pesticides.”
Nowadays, a second generation is in charge of the management and in addition to digitalise production and sales, they have passionately embraced the path of certification. This enables RB Plant to improve itself and meet the increasing demands of European specialised buyers. Over the years, the quality of Italian production has been increasingly appreciated by garden centers and as the market requires a wider offer, RB Plant began to diversify its offer of potted plants, introducing aromatic plants and involving others as well.
Bruzzone started with MPS-ABC in 2021 and instantly obtained an MPS-A status. They started with MPS-ABC, because they believe that certification is an added value to the company. Initially it was not easy to convince the partners, because “any certification actually places ‘limits’ on your company in a sense because it requires compliance with the rules”. Yet, we now see that certification enables us to continuously improve our company procedures along the entire supply chain and makes us stand even closer to the consumers who choose our products every day. The company chose to also certify a group of companies with MPS certificates, because it is particularly in demand in France. “Personally, I am very satisfied that on my booth and advertisements I can show the MPS-Vignette,” says Bruzzone.
Many growers notice that the focus today has shifted to production techniques and sustainability, where in the past large international buyers paid attention to company certifications. Bruzzone confirms: “Yes, we notice that too”. Now, more than a certification on the ‘structure’, the market requires a certification on the production and on the environmental impact. That ranges from the usage of water, energy and pesticides themselves. “Our policy has always been to use pesticides as little as possible and we are happy if this type of certification spreads.“
