Rosehips with a Mission
When you see a vase filled with rosehips, branches heavy with bright orange or red fruits, you mostly see atmosphere. What you don’t see is the patience, the soil, the bees, and two people who have been asking the same question for eighteen years: how can we make this fairer, more beautiful, and more reliable for everyone?
Branko Petrovic (grower in Serbia) and Eric Stokman (selection and market in the Netherlands) are building Rosefruits together. “What we deliver is a living product,” says Branko. “That requires care and love.”
Rosefruits
To understand what Eric and Branko do, you don’t need to be a horticulture expert. A rosehip is simply the fruit that grows on a rose stem after the flower has bloomed. Florists use the hip-bearing branches in bouquets: they add atmosphere, structure, and last a long time.
Eric: “Don’t think of a single rose, but of a branch that gives instant shape. One good branch with a few flowers is already a full bouquet with artistic value.”
Today, Rosefruits offers three main products:
Autumn Rosefruits: The core product, available all autumn under one name, with small red hips.
Rosefruits Elite: Long-lasting, with finer, richer fruiting and elegant stems that offer extra artistic value.
Rosefruits Tops: The showpiece that grows for two years, giving it shape and volume. Popular with florists for creating profitable bouquets using just one exclusive branch. Rosefruits Tops also sell well on their own and “stand beautifully” in almost any living room.
Customer Wishes in Practice
Market demand has shaped Rosefruits: customers wanted one clear name for rosehips that works in every language. That fits perfectly with how Branko and Eric have always worked: listening closely to florists’ needs and keeping short communication lines with clients. What wholesalers and florists ask for is directly translated into the field.
This allows Branko and Eric to keep innovating quickly—from thornless stems to longer branches, unique shapes and varieties, mildew resistance, and more sustainable, affordable stems. “We listen to what customers *really* need,” says Eric. “And we build on that immediately.”
Because the company is entirely specialized in rosehip branches, the cycle continues year-round: selecting, testing, adjusting, and delivering without other crops to distract. Eric sums it up simply: “We grow nothing else; we work on this twelve months a year.”
The result is a steady supply that looks exactly as promised, while behind the scenes, small improvements are made continuously.
Trust in the Soil
Every year, compost is added to the fields. It feeds soil life, retains water better, and makes plants more resilient. Less chemistry means more biodiversity and balance above and below ground. “The soil is alive,” says Eric. “If you don’t respect that, horticulture will never become truly sustainable. Fully organic is our goal, but not a strict rule; sometimes there’s damage, and the market doesn’t always pay for that.”
Still, they see confirmation of their direction in small signs. “This morning there were edible mushrooms among the roses,” says Branko. “That gives confidence in the soil.”
In Harmony with nature
Rosehips bloom just when bees need pollen for their next generation. Hives placed beside the fields ensure strong colonies *and* good pollination. “Pollen is the main food for larvae,” Eric explains. “Healthy bees now mean strong bees in winter.”
At the same time, the crops are grown in harmony with nature: plants have more space, and balance is maintained both above and below ground. With minimal interference, a stronger, more durable product grows: one that lasts longer.
Not everything can be planned, however. In recent years, weather extremes have increased: heavy rain, hail, or frost at the wrong moment. Covering twenty hectares is impossible, so their approach is diversification: “cultivation at three locations, varieties less sensitive to extremes, and harvest weeks we can shift,” says Eric. “That way, we reduce frost and hail risk and keep supply as stable as possible.”
“Nothing is certain,” adds Branko. “In a few years, the weather could change again. That’s why we’re building a system that can adapt.”
Everyone Happy
Ultimately, Rosefruits isn’t about one “golden” variety, but about love for a natural product and care for both nature and people. Rosefruits consciously goes beyond standard certifications (like GlobalG.A.P. and MPS-A) and works toward a clear goal: fully organically grown products within five years.
The bees are their allies; they tell the story of nature’s wonder. Or, as Branko puts it:
“When the product stands strong and healthy, it all aligns. Nature happy, bees happy, us happy, everyone happy.”
Shop for Rosefruitfs on our webshop.
Coloríginz unites specialist brands in roses, summer flowers, exotics, and foliage. Together we offer a unique collection, rich in both quality and variety. Sourced from the world’s best growers, available in reliable volumes, at smart prices.
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