Trinidad Greenhouse & Farms in Quincy ready to do business in South Korea

QUINCY — The Grant County trade mission to Gunpo, South Korea was successful on several levels, establishing international business contacts, fruitful business-to-business discussions, basic supply and demand.

For Trinidad Greenhouse & Farms in Quincy, which already has a global footprint, it was a step into the Korean market. Trinidad Lavender is a wholesale distributor of lavender and laverndula products that works closely with major cosmetic lines. The South Korean interest in skin products makes it a natural fit, operations manager Amy Boorman said.

“The main goal of the trip was just to make contacts and we actually made potential clients out of the deal,” said Boorman, who came to work at Trinidad Lavender Farms in 20015. “South Korea is one of the highest cosmetic capitals in the world. They emphasize greatly the use of cosmetics, for both men and women. I read a report that said the average South Korean uses 13 products a day on their skin. The lavender oil we were marketing over there is used in a lot of that stuff.”

Trinidad Lavender Farms operates one of the largest lavender farms in the United States. It will be cutting almost 75 acres of lavender varieties in 2016. Lavender has healing properties in addition to an appealing fragrance.

“It has a calming affect on the body, as well as an antiseptic for small scrapes and abrasions,” Boorman said. “It’s also been used for skin regeneration. Lavender oil on aged or darkened skin will help regenerate it. Some people use straight oil, some people use it in a lotion. But other cosmetic products use it to help boost their properties.”

Since the Goseong Lavender Festival at Hani Lavender Farm in Goseong-gun Gangwon-do attracts people from around the world every year, it is quite a boon for a Grant County business to make such an impact in the South Korean market.

“It’s very exciting. It’s huge for the business to be internationally known. Bringing the United States into the lavender oil market will be something new,” Boorman said. “The production is primarily out of Bulgaria and China right now. It’s an absolutely amazing experience to be able to take part in bringing a small community like Quincy into a worldwide trade.”

At this point, it’s a numbers game and an export game, she said. But they do expect to start shipping product before the end of the year. It is a slow process, but Trinidad Lavender Farms is in contact with customers.

“As soon as we are able to ship it, they will take it,” Boorman said. “We’ll definitely be able to put things in place this year. We’ll start off by shipping oil by the gallon, as well as hydrocol, which is a lavender scented water that has oil properties in it. We already have clients in the United States to supply. As this business grows, we’ll be able to grow with the clients we’ve established. As they try products, as their need increases, we’ll be able to increase at the same time.”

There are multiple types of lavender oil, Boorman explained. She narrowed her presentation to five products on this particular eight-day trip. But they were received with such enthusiasm that she sees future interest in other products.

“The process would be to introduce different oils. We’re trying to target the market as individual oils specific to the plant,” she said.