“We want to grow the organic market

What started in 2016 as a one-man business in an attic room in Amsterdam grew into a flourishing company with 25 employees. In addition to organic indoor and garden plants, Sprinklr has also been selling organic seeds from De Bolster for a few years. “A conscious choice,” says co-founder Liedewij Loorbach.

Greening cities and helping people with ‘good green.’ That was what founder Suzanne van Straaten, living in an Amsterdam neighborhood with a lot of concrete, wanted when she started Sprinklr in 2016. To her surprise, she quickly discovered that an enormous amount of pesticides are used in this sector. She didn’t want to sell that kind of green. Six months later, she joined forces with Liedewij Loorbach and together they started selling organic garden plants and flower bulbs online.

Seeds from De Bolster

Liedewij says: “Nine years ago, that online sale of organic plants was still a niche that many didn’t dare to touch. The number of SKAL-certified growers was and still is relatively small in the Netherlands. So those first years were not easy. And then COVID happened and half the Netherlands started gardening. That helped us over a financial hurdle. The media attention in recent years regarding pesticide use in the ornamental plant industry also gave our company a boost.

The choice for De Bolster as their supplier of organic seeds was quickly made at the time. Liedewij: “It is a great SKAL-certified partner for smaller entrepreneurs to work with, a very sympathetic company. They have plenty of variety for the ornamental garden, which is what most of our customers come for. I am always in contact with Iris, and she is a lovely person with whom I have good conversations. That collaboration goes very smoothly. Last November we ordered 25,000 seed packets, including marigold, nasturtium, but also pepper and zucchini.”

Pesticides are not necessary

The choice for organic plants and seeds is a very logical one for Liedewij. “All sustainable matters in the world are very close to my heart; the use of pesticides is one of them. I don’t understand why we allow this in ornamental horticulture; it’s completely unnecessary. A company like De Bolster is living proof of that.

What I have trouble with is that the government hands out all sorts of subsidies to research whether and how pesticide use can be reduced, for example by conventional bulb growers. While it can be done entirely without pesticides. The citizen is already paying for the consequences of toxic use by companies. And then the citizen also has to pay to help the companies that have made profits from it for years to use a little less poison? Bizarre. It frustrates me, but at the same time, it gives me energy to make the organic market larger and to support organic growers and seed breeders. I really see that as our role.”

“My great wish for the future is a fully organic ornamental horticulture sector, just as De Bolster strives for in agriculture.”

Towards 100% organic

Sprinklr is doing well; Suzanne and Liedewij’s company has grown by about 30% compared to last year. That makes Liedewij hopeful. “My great wish for the future is for ornamental horticulture to be 100% bio, just as De Bolster’s mission is for agriculture. That’s also what I find so cool about De Bolster. The EU wants to scale up organic agriculture and they simply say: we are going to ensure that no one can say they can’t get hold of bio seeds later. I find that super bold and a beautiful role.”