Royal Flora Holland is launching a reusable bucket to transport its flowers in a bid to eliminate approximately 250,000 kg of cardboard annually, reduce supply chain costs, and boost efficiency.
Reportedly, the reusable Fc555 bucket helps cut down on the amount of cardboard consumed every year while eliminating the costs associated with single-use collars and support shelving.
“Reducing packaging waste is high on our agenda,” Royal Flora Holland COO Leendert-Jan Plaisier previously commented. “Flower growers now use cardboard collars or plastic sleeves to protect their flowers and to help them stand out on the auction clock or in direct sales.
“In many cases, buyers then throw away the cardboard and plastic at their location before the flowers are distributed within and outside of Europe. They have made it known that they would like to make this more sustainable.”
The Fc555 is also believed to reduce handling requirements at the nursery, with the buyer, and further down the supply chain.
The first transactions have been completed with the Fc555 bucket distributing Gerbera Aqua flowers to customers.
“In total, our farms produce 240 million mini gerberas annually,” explains Michel Duijvesteijn, commercial manager at grower Colours of Nature. “This makes us the largest supplier of gerberas in Europe.
“In order to meet the needs of retailers, not only is the range important, but also a high degree of efficiency. The transition from Fc996 to Fc555 means less handling in our gardens, as the support shelving is no longer necessary when we use Fc555.
“This also means less storage space is required at our farms. Our tests have also shown that the risk of damage is reduced in the new packaging. We are delighted that we can now start using this new reusable flower bucket as the first product group.”
Royal Flora Holland plans to introduce the Fc555 to each of its product groups in a phased roll-out – a move hoped to ensure availability during busy periods. After expanding the format across its Gerbera Aqua range, it will be implemented into its Gerbera Diamond flowers by approximately June 2026 (a final date is yet to be confirmed). Other product groups are set to follow this summer.
As part of the Royal Flora Holland packaging pool, the Fc555 bucket will first be collected from depots in Aalsmeer, Naaldwijk and Rijnsburg; the Plantion and VRM depots will be introduced at a later date. Royal Flora Holland specifies that it can collect 320 items per trolley (16 x 20 high per stack).
Offering dimensions of 298x248x380 mm, the new bucket combines the base size of Royal Flora Holland’s small Fc566 bucket with the height of its large Fc577/Fc588 buckets. It is designed to replace the Fc965 container, which utilized the Fc596 support shelving – resulting in dimensions of 300x250x570 mm.
Late last year, DS Smith worked with Queen Flowers in a similar effort to develop a recyclable bouquet box for retail stores and outlets. Made from corrugated cardboard, the pack features two lid options: one featuring five holes for smaller bouquets and the other featuring three holes for larger bouquets.
ICA Sweden has also adopted Stora Enso’s moulded wood fibre trays for flowers. The transition is set to phase out polystyrene alternatives and lower CO2 emissions by up to 81%.
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