2 years, 5 months ago

Fresh-o-Fair is proud of its close working relationships with several innovative flower farms. With more than 30 years of experience in the flower industry, we know the importance of sourcing from high-quality and sustainable flower farms. One such partner is Doña Natalia by Agrogana, a family-owned flower farm that prides itself on eco-friendly flowers, fair trade certification, and innovation to keep meeting its customers’ evolving needs. Check out these facts from our interview with Agrogana’s General Manager, Álvaro Espinosa, and Account Manager, Camila Chávez for more insight into Agrogana and its success in the Ecuadorian flower industry.

A Brief History of Agrogana

Álvaro Espinosa studied agriculture and comes from a farming family. While the rest of his family is in the dairy and potato business, Espinosa wanted to pursue something new and different. That’s how Agrogana was established. Having been in business since 1997, Agrogana is a family-owned flower farm with decades of experience in growing and selling high-quality flowers such as roses, ranunculus, eryngium, anemones, and delphinium.

The Espinosa family owns 5 farms, with Agrogana spanning 50 hectares and located in the heart of the Cotopaxi valley. They have grown throughout the years, and today, Agrogana is one of the most well-known and reliable flower farms in Ecuador.

Álvaro and Camila’s Favourite Flowers

Both Álvaro and Camila are passionate about flowers and how much joy they bring to people. That’s why Fresh-o-Fair made it a point to ask them about their favorite flowers. Álvaro loves poppies and is in the process of implementing a Poppy Program at Agrogana. Ecuadorian flower farms require a special permit from the government to grow poppies, and Agrogana should be able to provide poppies to its consumers within a month. One of the best parts of the program is that these poppies will be available throughout the year.

According to Camila, ranunculus also deserves the spotlight. In addition to being beautiful flowers, they’re available in a variety of colors and are great to display by themselves and with other flowers. Agrogana is known for its variety and offers customers more than ten colors in big-bud ranunculus.

How Agrogana Is Different From Other Flower Farms

We also spoke in detail about how Agrogana is different from other flower farms. In addition to being an amazing team that thoroughly supports each other, Agrogana is focused on client satisfaction. Their primary goals are to ensure that clients have access to every product they need, continue providing excellent products, and keep their workers and customers happy. In fact, the flower farm offers over 150 varieties of roses and garden roses, as well as a number of other popular flowers, including eryngium, delphinium, and solomios.

In addition to focusing on their customers, Agrogana is also focused on reducing chemical use and taking care of the ecosystem. Their soil is alive with worms, and although they’re not 100% organic, they’re trying their best to replace chemicals with biologicals and natural remedies. In addition to ensuring clean products, this also protects their workers’ health.

Social Impact

Another way Agrogana is impressive is their dedication to their workers and their determination to make a difference in their workers’ lives. Agrogana has been Fair Trade Certified for over 22 years, which ensures that its employees are well compensated for their hard work. They are committed to protecting nature and their workers by consistently evolving and following all guidelines.

In fact, they go above and beyond with their social programs aimed to improve the lives of workers and their children. In addition to providing excellent wages and benefits, Agrogana provides education for workers’ children. Since the education in the area they’re located in is poor, they have developed English, Maths, and Computer programs for children so that they’re well-prepared for university and higher education.

Dealing With the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic was a major test for Agrogana since they thought they would have to close the farm. Out of fear for their workers, they collected 3 months of food and assured workers that they wouldn’t be fired. Even if they didn’t get enough orders, all workers would be paid half their salary and be supported. However, to their surprise, the Ecuadorian airport never closed, and sales continued. Agrogana started providing floral e-commerce services and selling bouquets. Because of the shutdown of other farms, they had even more customers. Instead of refusing to let go of their workers, they had to hire more workers.

Fortunately, because of their preparation and the preventive safety measures they put into place, there was no contamination. The few workers that did get COVID-19 did not spread it to others and were isolated almost immediately. Because of their quick thinking and extensive safety protocols, they have continued to flourish throughout the pandemic.

Agrogana’s Partnership With Fresh-o-Fair

Agrogana first partnered with Fresh-o-Fair during the pandemic to improve its floral e-commerce services. We served as an intermediary to bring their services to customers and expand their market. According to Álvaro and Camila, Agrogana and Fresh-o-Fair’s values align with each other, and it has been an excellent experience to work with others who have the same passion for flowers and excellence in customer service.

Moving Forward and Future Goals

When we asked about Agrogana’s future goals, we were delighted to hear about their innovations and programs. One of the things we admire most about Agrogana is its commitment to ensuring the best for its customers. This includes consistently improving quality and service and providing new varieties to their customers. They are currently working on growing orchids and further improving their process.

Instead of remaining stagnant, their team works together to improve their products and ensure consistently high quality. Since they’re committed to innovation and providing customers with the best products on the market, we can be sure to expect more exclusive products from them throughout the years. Fresh-o-Fair is proud to partner with such an innovative and socially aware flower farm and can’t wait to see further growth from Agrogana.

To learn more about their products and buy online go to their profile here