The YPHA’s Launch Success Challenge is finally underway with the first masterclasses having taken place in The Netherlands at the start of the month.
Delegates were hosted by the programme’s supporters Floramedia and Beekenkamp Plants B.V. across two days with a jam-packed itinerary organised by YPHA founder Natalie Boynton to make sure that no question remained unanswered.
Floramedia who are celebrating their 100th anniversary this month specialise in the horticulture supply chain from seed to retail and create communications that deliver the passion and love put into growing plants in the best possible way.
At Floramedia, the process of creating plant labels from design to finished product was observed, highlighting the detail, passion and hard work involved. A presentation by the MDs from both the UK and NL on branding and packaging development provided valuable insights that will be useful during the group stages of the challenge. The visit included a tour of Floramedia’s photography studio where various techniques for photographing plants for marketing and social media were demonstrated and then tested by the delegates.
Since 1951, Beekenkamp Plants B.V. has been at the forefront of innovation in breeding plants, with an annual production of 2 billion young plants per year and a specialist of the garden classic Begonia, where better place for LSC delegates to learn all about the plant being launched into the market next year than with the breeder themself.
Day 2 at Beekekamp Plants B.V. delegates were able to get a glimpse of the plant they will be launching next year. Beekenkamp also opened their doors to the YPHA for a personalised tour which showed all of processes from breeding to new plant. Hygiene is paramount within the fortress of glasshouses, requiring delegates to don overalls, hairnets and shoe coverings so as not to contaminate the many plants within.
The Launch Success Challenge sees 10 YPHA delegates divided into two groups Apprentice-style to launch a product from conception to market. In this instance they will be launching Begonia 4684, bred by Beekenkamp plants and grown at Happy Plants. The plant will be introduced to the market at Gardeners World Live 2025 and stocked by British Garden Centres.
On Monday, 15th July, the candidates will reconvene in London, the central hub of where all important decisions are made in most businesses. The teams will be announced and from then on, the real challenge begins where we see whose salesmanship, negotiation, requisitioning, strategy, leadership, teamwork and organisation will land them the prize of having their name chosen for the launch of Begonia 4684.
London’s focus will be on marketing with two leading people within this sector, Michael Perry (Mr Plant Geek) and Jane Lawler who will run back-to-back masterclasses on identity and commerciality, which will be fundamental knowledge in marketing any product into the industry.
