Ranges Farm; Flower export business established at the height of Covid-19

In 2020, at the height of COVID-19 and as most horticultural businesses struggled with the uncertainty that the pandemic was generating, one entrepreneur took the leap of faith by establishing a flower exporting business. While the company had been serving the local market for some years, an order from an international client would see Connie Muthee, the Director at Ranges Farm together with her business partner, took the bold step of confirming that she would supply to the client. This was despite the numerous pandemic-induced measures including inter-county lockdowns, cancellation of flights and grounding of planes.

“It was quite a tough time. But the fact that we got one international inquiry emboldened our resolve to work with international customers. Like everyone else in the market, we were not sure how long COVID would last or the measures introduced to curb its spread would take. But we knew we would find a way somehow,” she said. And they did. When the measures were relaxed the company was able to send its first shipment to the Middle East. By 2021, through the word of mouth, the clients had grown to four and spread across Middle East, South Korea and Rwanda.

“Of course, the uncertainties were still there, but it is the rise in demand for flowers that inspired us to address that market gap. We are glad we did,” enthused Connie.

The farm now has nine international clients and has been keen to tap into more markets across the world from Russia, Japan, Europe to Democratic Republic of Congo. Ranges Farm has predominantly been a consolidator, buying flowers from farms and selling them to both local and international markets. Key among the flowers they export include summer flowers which takes the lion share of their shipments, Mathiola, Limoniums, carnations and roses. They receive orders on a weekly basis.

“Consolidation has its ups and downs like any other business. Consistency and cultivation of a good relationship with clients has been our hallmark. If a client asks for an order you need to assure them that it will be delivered and within the time they need it. This has also meant ensuring we work closely with flower farms who we source from to ensure the quality and packaging meets the customers’ requirements,” she added. The farm has predominantly been working with large scale farms due to volumes although at times it extends its partnership to small growers.
Connie notes that African market has been promising with countries like Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo expressing insatiable appetite for Kenyan flowers besides the established markets like Europe and Middle East. She however said that in order for the African markets to fully work, capacity and logistical issues must be addressed. “We have had instances where we have struggled with space issues for our flower cargo or where our flowers are left at the airport. We have learnt our lessons but these are some of the challenges that the industry must address,” she added.

The farm has also had to grapple with freight charges that not only put the brakes on their operations but slows their expansion plans. Prohibitive energy costs have continued to eat into their bottom line. To insulate themselves from these high costs, the farm is in the process of installing solar power at their new farm.

The farm has also welcomed Kenya’s decision to start exporting flowers by sea saying it is a channel they will embrace. “Besides cutting down on the cost of air freight, transportation of flowers by sea will make our flowers competitive and sustainable, allowing us to compete globally and move with global trends,” Connie noted.

Inspired by the growing orders by international markets during the pandemic, the company decided to move from consolidation to growing its own flowers. To this end, it has secured 10 acres of land in Kajiado county with five acres already under Limonium and Gypsophila production. The company hopes to grow production area to 100 acres in the near future while focusing on more flower varieties including carnations and roses. This, even as it sets sights on more markets and establishing a toehold in more global markets.

The company is also looking at investing in training the surrounding community on the technical skills of growing flowers in order to employ them in the farm.“We want to grow the brand Kenya flower. One that is sustainable, competitive and celebrates the spirit of resilience and consistency that defines Kenyan flowers. The demand is there, what we need is to meet it in the best way we can. COVID-19 taught us the spirit of resilience and that flowers are a universal gift,” Connie added.