In the charming Limburg village of Herten, the entrepreneur Robert Knippenberg has been running the specialist flower shop Capillo for almost 30 years. The shop, with the idyllic walled garden next to the church of Herten, enjoys a sterling reputation among flower and plant lovers from far and wide. The shop owes this reputation primarily to its unique creations of exceptionally high quality. "The Phalaenopsis assortment of Opti-flor blends in seamlessly with this pursuit of quality, which we are offering our customers."
The passionate Knippenberg is following the path he has laid out for himself. "We work exclusively with products with a natural appearance. You will not find any stylised creations here. That is precisely the reason that I am so pleased with the 'wilder' varieties of Opti-flor."
Trendsetting
This focus on a natural appearance extends to the ceramic ware as well. “We shall never have plastic pots, rather beautiful ceramic ones with a natural look." It is characteristic of Knippenberg that he prefers to be trendsetting rather than a follower of trends. "While last Christmas there were many pastel tints in the shop displays, now we have deliberately chosen darker colours."
Phalaenopsis is important
Capillo also specialises in personal wedding and funeral projects and is very active on the commercial market. "We decorate many offices and reception areas and are often commissioned by hall hire and event venues. The ratio of flowers to plants at Capillo is about 75% to 25%. Within the assortment of plants, Phalaenopsis is an important product group. "Every week around 30 - 40 Phalaenopsis are sold by us," confirmed Knippenberg, who visits cash & carry Ebus Planten in Venlo almost daily. "We do not have any cold storage and feel it is important to work with fresh products. Plus I insist on seeing for myself the product that I am purchasing. After all, we do not make any concessions when it comes to quality."
Extremely high quality
Regarding Phalaenopsis purchases, Knippenberg in principle always chooses Opti-flor, unless a particular colour is unavailable one time. "The quality of the Opti-flor assortment far exceeds that of other suppliers. Aside from the buds and flowers, I particularly notice it in the root growth. With a Phalaenopsis from Opti-flor, you can see that the plant was given plenty of time to root well. That to me is a positive sign in a sector in which plants are forced to grow as quickly as possible so they can be supplied at ever shorter intervals to the retail trade." Knippenberg notices as well that customers return regularly to buy a new Phalaenopsis from Opti-flor. "Every once in a while one will purchase an orchid from the supermarket, but he soon notices that it does not come anywhere near the quality of Opti-flor."
Telling the story behind the plant
As a result of winning the Golden Singolo Award, Knippenberg and the team of Capillo recently visited Opti-flor. "That was so impressive. The staff were very generous with their time. It was fascinating to hear and see everything involved in cultivating a top-quality Phalaenopsis. What struck us was that the company was incredibly clean and well cared for." What Knippenberg already suspected was confirmed during the visit. "At Opti-flor the plants remain longer in the greenhouse than at other growers. Now that we know this, we shall also inform our customers. In fact, every good florist should visit Opti-flor sometime. I know that when you have seen it in practice, and hear the story behind it, you will always choose quality over price from then on."
