PROFILE: BOTANIX
Hard work and business acumen the keys to success for Carl Soderlund and Botanix By Matt Ross It’s always fascinating to sit down with a grower and understand the origins of their horticultural journey. For Carl Soderlund, Director of Botanix Plant Supply, there was an air of inevitability that his career path would lead him to growing. It was in the blood. His Swedish great-grandfather, a merchant seaman, who decided on a life in Australia as an orchardist. His grandfather followed him into the orchards. And his parents, Alan and Sylvia, were founding partners of Plantmark, a large national wholesale marketing company for the nursery industry. Growing up, nursery visits were commonplace, even family holidays were sometimes hijacked with horticultural goings on. And whilst he has no formal horticultural training, he’s always been immersed in the industry, and he’s learnt through osmosis. But whilst there’s a consistency to the family industry, Carl was adamant that he wanted to make his own mark in the nursery industry and not to inherit an established business from his parents. “Before my parents sold Plantmark in 2004, there was a brief conversation as to whether I would step into the business. I felt I didn’t have the relevant experience at that time, and still wanted to forge my own path”
Bottom row: Aftermath of the 2011 flood
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GROUNDSWELL FEBRUARY 2022
And so, in 2007, a 26-year-old Carl, established Botanix Plant Supply, a wholesale nursery in Carrum Downs growing trees and shrubs. Launching a horticultural business in the midst of the Global Financial Crisis and the millennium drought, would have put many off. “I backed in myself and worked damned hard. I said yes to every customer request which led to some long days. We still have customers from those early days because we’ve always been able to deliver for them. I had a sense that if I could establish Botanix under such adverse conditions, it would set us up well for long-term success.” He also acknowledges the role his wife, Mandy, played in those early days. “Mandy backed me and encouraged me to focus on the business, working full time to ease the financial burden of a new business. Our rapid growth would not have been possible without her support”.
