Meet-the-Buyers Event

Brasted, Kent, UK

March 13, 2025 to March 13, 2025

Meet-the-Buyers Event
  • ABOUT
  • BUYER PROFILES
  • COST
  • APPLICATION FORM

ABOUT

A great chance for British suppliers to have one-to-one meetings with international trade buyers seeking new products from the UK!

Gardenex holds regular Meet the Buyer events at our offices in Brasted, near Sevenoaks, Kent.  These are an invaluable and cost-effective opportunity for UK-based suppliers to have one-to-one meetings with international garden and pet trade buyers.  Our speed-dating format allows UK suppliers the chance to promote their products and services in 25 minute meeting slots, and start the foundations for an excellent working partnership.  Buyers taking part include garden centre retailers, importers/distributors/wholesalers, mail-order and online stores from Europe and occasionally further afield.

Our next Meet the Buyer event will take place on Thursday, 13 March 2025.  The buyers taking part are from Belgium (garden centre retailer and online store) and the Netherlands (importer/distributor of pet supplies).  Please see the ‘Buyer Profiles’ tab for more information about the companies and their product requirements.

If you would like to take part, please complete and submit the application form by 25 February – see tab above.  For any further information, please contact Eleanor by email or tel: 01959 587 443 / 01959 565995.

We have attended a number of these events and have always found them to be a very useful tool for our export market. In general they are very informative and have repaid the time, effort and expense many times over.

- A happy supplier!

BUYER PROFILES

The companies taking part in our Meet the Buyer event on Thursday, 13 March 2025 are:

Floralux and Tuinadvies, Belgium – www.floralux.be and www.tuinadvies.be / www.tuinadvies.nl

Originally established as a florist’s in 1956, today Floralux’s flagship garden centre in Dadizele is one of the largest in Belgium, with a sales area of 25,000m2, 150 staff, parking for 1,500 cars and annual turnover of around €45 million. Its location in West Flanders, close to the French border, means it attracts customers from northern France as well as from Belgium. In recent years, Floralux has expanded, opening a second 15,500m2 garden centre in Ham in eastern Belgium in May 2018, and a 10,000m2 garden centre in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw on the outskirts of Brussels in autumn 2019. Floralux also owns Florink Nederland BV, a central buying operation for plants and flowers, which is located in Aalsmeer in the Netherlands. Floralux aims to offer the widest possible variety of quality practical and decorative gardening products, along with home decoration/gifts, at good prices. They particularly try to inspire their customers to create ambience in both their homes and gardens. The Dadizele centre has a pet section too.

In 2017, Floralux acquired the mail-order/online business Tuinadvies. Tuinadvies offers a very broad range of practical gardening supplies, decoration, outdoor leisure, greenhouses, along with pet and wildlife supplies – a total of 25,000 items. The web-store is one of the most visited garden sites in Belgium and the Netherlands, with 14 million visitors per year and 500,000 customers. Floralux already imports a few products for the garden centres direct from the UK and Tuinadvies works with a number of UK suppliers.

The whole Floralux/Tuinadvies business is owned and managed by two families.

The buyers from both Floralux and Tuinadvies are taking part in our event. They are looking for all types of gardening equipment and supplies for both sides of the business. The buyer from Floralux is also interested in bbqs/fire-pits.

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Warmako, Netherlands – www.warmako.com

For almost 35 years, Warmako has been the distributor for innovative and well-known brands (such as Almo Nature, West Paw, PetSafe) in the pet industry in Europe. The company believes in partnering with the best brands per product category to give its customers the greatest choice of products. From warehousing and fulfilment to marketing and brand development, Warmako manages the entire value chain to serve its customers.

As an omni-channel distributor, Warmako leverages a strong global network to connect brands and customers. From its headquarters in Rotterdam and warehouses in the Netherlands and Germany, thousands of business customers across Europe are served every day, ranging from pet specialty shops, retail chains and garden centres to online retailers and other professionals. Warmako has its own sales force visiting independent shops, and key-account managers working with every major pet chain in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, eg Fressnapf, Pets Place, Tom & Co etc.

Via Warmako’s online B2B platform, customers have access to its portfolio of premium brands where they can view items, get inspired by unique content and respond to the latest trends by ordering unique concept products. This demand-driven order process offers Warmako’s customers the ability to place an order whenever it is convenient for them, mix and match brands, order products in any quantity, and replenish when they are ready. In addition, Warmako provides extra services, such as drop-shipping from its inventory. This allows customers to offer a wide range of products to their clients without having to hold stock themselves. Orders are delivered directly to the end customer or to the store within 24 hours.

The owner and procurement director are looking for innovative and unique pet brands in the following categories: pet accessories, snacks and wet food – for cats & dogs only.

I am really pleased with the incredible service offered by Gardenex & PetQuip. This was the second time that I had participated in a Meet-the-Buyers event and literally, just a few days earlier, I had received an order along with an order forecast from the buyer I met at the previous Meet-the-Buyers event.

- A happy supplier!

COST

If you would like to have a meeting with one or more of the buyers taking part in our Meet the Buyer event on 13 March 2025, please complete and submit the application form by 25 February – see tab above.  Gardenex will send a list of all applicants to the buyers who will select those they wish to meet.  We will then confirm to you whether or not your application has been successful.

Successful applicants will be allocated 25 minute one-to-one, private meetings with the buyer/s.  This is a great opportunity to introduce and present your company, products and USPs.  Most suppliers bring samples.

The cost is shown below:

Rates + VAT Member Non-Member
First meeting £150 £250
Subsequent meeting/s £140 £240

 

On receipt of the application form and confirmation from the buyer/s that they would like to meet you, Gardenex will send you an invoice.  Invoices must be settled in advance of the event.  Payment can be made by credit card over the telephone, BACS or cheque.

The Gardenex Meet-the-Suppliers events are better than five days at a trade show!

- A happy buyer!

APPLICATION FORM

If you would like to take part in our Meet the Buyer event, please complete and submit the application form below by Tuesday 25 February.

If you would like any further information, please contact Eleanor by email or tel: 01959 587 443 / 01959 565995.

Thank you!

COMPANY DETAILS:

MEETING REQUESTS:

Please mark order of preference in case it is not possible to allocate all meetings requested
Floralux & Tuinadvies (Belgian garden centre retailer & online store)
Warmako (Dutch importer/distributor of pet supplies)
*Note: Requests for meeting slots are handled on a first-come, first-served basis but they are also allocated according to the preferences of the buyers involved. Gardenex makes every effort to ensure that at least one meeting is allocated per application if feasible and, if more than one meeting is allocated, that they are as close together as possible. Meeting times will be notified to applicants during w/c 3 March.

YOUR DETAILS:

This description will be used to inform buyers (no more than 20 words please) and will be provided with your website