"By moving to an online store model, we were able to reduce the seasonality often seen in plant sales and have more steady sales throughout the year," says Rodolphe Bruneault, co-owner of the online plant store Cactus en ligne.
Based out of Montreal, Cactus en ligne grows ornamental plants in their indoor farm and sells across Canada through its website as well as through Amazon. Although succulents are at the heart of the business, Cactus en ligne offers a wide range of plants including cacti, tropical species, hoyas, air plants and rare species. While Rodolphe handles the strategic and financial aspects of the business, his brother Victor (also co-owner) handles the growing operations.
© Cactus en ligne
Keeping it in the family
The horticultural sector is no stranger to family-run businesses, but this seems to be less common in new, first-generation operations – especially in urban settings, where there is often more diversity in economic sectors and career opportunities. But for the Bruneault brothers, their different training but common passion led them to build a thriving business together.
Combining Rodolphe's business acumen and Victor's horticultural training, the brothers initially founded Succurbaine, a company whose name was emblematic of their mission: to produce succulents in the urban setting of Montreal. While selling through public markets was a crucial first step to building their brand, the pair started looking into ways to expand their operations and needed a more efficient way to sell larger quantities.
"The face-to-face aspect of public markets was fun but by 2021, we were selling at seven different markets per week – sometimes two in a day. We wanted to reduce our time spent loading and unloading the van, and reach a wider market," says Rodolphe.
In 2020, the brothers joined the Centrale Agricole (a Quebec-based urban agriculture cooperative) and moved into larger production area in 2021. Then, happenstance took over. While still under the name Succurbaine, Victor and Rodolphe were approached by the owners of Cactus en ligne. The online boutique had existed since 2016, and the owners were looking for a change. And so, Victor and Rodolphe purchased the platform and migrated their business onto it. Since then, the brothers have been gradually increasing their production and are selling across Canada.
"When considering sales directly on our website, roughly 50% are within Quebec and 50% are outside of the province. Amazon.ca is another important sales channel for us, with most sales being outside of Quebec and largely to customers in Ontario," Rodolphe explains.
© Cactus en ligne
As the company strives to reach the production capacity of their facility, they are also looking to develop additional sales channels and build new offtake partnerships. One of the challenges in expanding, according to Rodolphe, is finding the right balance of DTC (direct to customer) and B2B sales. When dealing with high-value products like tropicals, succulents, etc., direct sales through the website provide a more favorable margin and allows them to determine a price point that is reasonable to the customers while still reflecting the high quality of the plants. In contrast, selling B2B would allow them to sell larger volumes although at a lower price per unit.
Focusing on efficiency and value
When deciding to build a vertical farming company together, Victor and Rodolphe quickly ruled out food production due to concerns over profitability. Given the popularity of cacti and succulents, as well as their suitability to indoor production and high value per unit, the Bruneaults chose to focus on ornamentals. And thanks to the various initiatives in Canada and Quebec to support horticulture and first-generation farmers, Rodolphe and Victor were able to invest in technologies that would meet their short-term needs while supporting long-term growth.
"Building a small-scale production area requires the same effort as building a larger facility, and we knew we would want to expand," says Rodolphe. "We focused on building things properly the first time and investing in the right technologies, like Montel's GROW&ROLL shelving to maximize space, flood tables, recirculation systems and good plant material."
And while Cactus en ligne is constantly testing new products based on market trends and consumer demand, their succulent and cactus bundles are among their top sellers.
"People really like our 2.5" and 4" bundles of mixed succulents and cacti. We offer a variety of formats, from 6 to 28 plants. It takes the guesswork out of building an indoor garden, and they can use our plant care blog to make sure their plants are getting the right conditions," says Rodolphe.
For more information:
Rodolphe Bruneault, co-owner
Cactus en ligne
https://cactusenligne.ca/
[email protected]
