𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮 🌏
Four times a year, Rodger packs his bags for China. Not for the sights (though we hear the food helps, more on that later). He goes to sit down with our customers there, tour the growing locations, and catch up face to face, in fluent Mandarin, no translator needed.
At Onings, visiting your customers in person has always been part of the job. It's not just Rodger, our whole sales team travels regularly to see their customers, wherever in the world they are. That relationship has always mattered to us.
This trip took him to Kunming first, walking the fields with local growers and spotting a whole range of new varieties along the way. A great way to keep track of what's developing on the ground.
One detail that might catch your eye: those netted buds you see in one of the photos. "𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴," Rodger explains. "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵."
From there, on to an area where lilies are grown for something rather different: food. The scales are taken from the bulb, washed, cooked and prepared into a dish that's becoming a real trend in China, and one worth keeping an eye on (swipe all the way to the last photo if you don't believe us).
One more thing that might surprise you: in Asia, a big chunk of business happens through social media. Think TikTok, think WeChat. Rodger is active there too, chatting with customers between visits.
Bit by bit, these trips make it easier to say what's really going on, and to help each other find a way through.
#Onings #Lelies #Lilies #Bloembollen #FlowerBulbs
#China #Kunming #BehindTheScenes ... See MoreSee Less