What’s Behind Dümmen’s Name Change?

Chris Beytes

DNA Green Group has been the “official” name of the umbrella company that covers the brands Red Fox, Fides, Ecke, Oro, Bartels, et al., which the industry collectively refers to as “Dümmen.”

Now those individual brands are going away, as is DNA Green Group, and the whole organization will go by the new name “Dümmen Orange.” This rebranding occurred Thursday, April 23, as new signs went up at facilities in 16 countries.

Dümmen Orange? An odd yet intriguing choice that inspires lots of questions. Which we immediately asked, via email, of Perry Wismans, one of the managing partners in the business. Here’s what Perry had to say:

Perry, why the name Dümmen Orange?

“Dümmen is a well-respected name in most of our markets. Dümmen, because the family values remain important in our company. Orange because of the rich Dutch heritage and the importance of the Dutch companies in this new brand.” [Editor’s note: Orange is the official color of the Dutch royal family.] “Orange is vibrant and culturally significant.”

Can you be more specific about how the various brands will “convert over time”?

“This will differ a bit from continent to continent. Well-known names as Lex+, Bartels, Terra Nigra, Dümmen Group, Agribio China, Agribio Colombia, Oro [and] PLA, as well as the production locations, are changing their name immediately to Dümmen Orange. The established brand names Rijnplant, Ecke, Oglevee, Red Fox, Fides, Japan Agribio and Barberet & Blanc will disappear from the market over time. In North America, where Dümmen Group has been the leading entity for the last two years, this conversion will happen rather quickly.”

Will you have one or two Spring Trial locations next year, or do you yet know?

“Our Spring Trials presence will not change. In other words, we will keep two locations. The allocation from product groups per location may change a bit, but the dual sites have been a great success this year and will be continued.”

Some would say that your recent disease issues in production are much more important than focusing your energies on brands and names.

“Yes, we had an issue with petunia in 2014 in El Salvador, and decided to pull some product lines from Oro Farms last December. But since January 1, 2015 we have supplied over 250 million cuttings into the North American market in great quality and on-time delivery. Assuming that the rebranding takes focus away from producing cuttings is oversimplifying our complex business. Obviously, we have different teams working in the Marketing Department than in Supply Chain.

“Having said this, Dümmen Orange has invested the last 12 months tremendously in crop- and phytosanitary specialists and the further professionalizing of operation protocols. [Our objective is to] raise the bar in our industry, not only in annuals, but also in perennials and pot plant crops. And it seems that things are working, given the high-quality output this past shipping season.”

There has been talk that you are setting up Dümmen for sale by H2, your investment partner, which has a specific date by which they must be out. How much of this rebranding is part of that?

“It may be no surprise to you, but yes, the H2 shares in Dümmen Orange are for sale someday. However, note that over 40% of the Dümmen Orange shares are held by the Dümmen family and the management team, me included. So continuity is guaranteed.

“Actually, I firmly believe that the future of Dümmen Orange is bright. Compared to our main competitors, who are 100% family owned or listed on the stock market, all our managing directors are committed long-term and bound to our company.”

Perry concluded with this: “[The] most important reason for making the change to one company brand is to change our identity from a company with many great brands to one great brand with many great companies. It aligns ourselves internally and externally. Dümmen Orange brings all of our companies and brands under one umbrella. We will build further on the foundation of our company, increase the exchange of knowledge and embrace the strength of one company with beautiful collections. [It is a] development that also offers advantages for customers and for our partnerships. Our tag line says it all: For You.” GT