Headquartered in France
Natalia Morosova, Key Account Manager

Serge Voltz entered the flower and vegetable seed business in 1985, 50 years after his grandfather started his seed business in Colmar, France. His goal was to invent a new system that would allow professionals to order a wide range of quality seeds and receive them in a timely manner. Today, the Graines Voltz storage and logistics site, located in Angers, France, boasts the fastest distribution system in Europe. With 28,000 products and more than 20,000 customers in 60 countries, Graines Voltz has grown from a local company in Colmar to one of the leading independent European distributors of flower and vegetable seeds, with a workforce of over 600 people.

Collaborating with numerous partners and breeders, employees search the world for good flower and vegetable breeding programs and promising innovations. Acquiring companies that expand its reach and offerings has allowed Graines Voltz to accelerate its growth. The company now sells young nursery plants, as well as products for vertical farming.

Natalia Morosova has been with the Home Garden International department at Graines Voltz since 2021. Born in Russia, she studied languages at a Russian University. After marrying a Volga German (ethnic Russia Germans who lived in southeastern Russia were allowed to maintain their German language and culture) who then emigrated to Germany, she was able to move to Germany to reunite with her husband at age 23. Natalia needed to learn both English and German, as well as earn a certificate in Logistics Management, to find employment. She worked at an all-consuming job in the shipping industry for two years. It was her proficiency in English that led to an opportunity with N. L. Chrestensen, a 150 year-old seed company. There, she managed client relations for 15 years, and became immersed in the seed industry.

"I was born in Russia, am a German citizen, and now manage seed sales for a French company," Natalia laughs. She accepted the position as Key Account Manager when Graines Voltz acquired HILD, one of the seed suppliers she dealt with at N. L. Chrestensen. Working with Graines Voltz/Germany, Natalia and her colleague Pierre de Lamotte are part of Herbert Wehrle's Home Garden International department. When the company took over HILD, Wehrle structured the department, "building systems from scratch," explained Natalia. The department sells seed in bulk all over the world. Natalia specializes in selling to seed packet companies, including many Home Garden Seed Association members, in German and English speaking countries.

"Traveling to see clients is about 50% of my job," explains Natalia. Her approximately 280 clients are in northen Europe, Canada, United States, Great Britain, New Zealand, and elsewhere around the globe. Proficiency in languages—she's now learning French—has turned out to be central to her work. For someone who loves travel and communications, what could be a better fit?

"I like that I'm part of a company that is creating new products through plant breeding," says Natalia. Every year, several thousand new varieties are studied and tested so that Voltz Horticulture Group can present a wide range of flowers and vegetables to the horticulture industry. Research helps them stay in touch with market trends and know what landscape designers, as well as home gardeners, are seeking. Among the many top varieties offered by Graines Voltz are vigorous, fast-grow 'Aphrodite' parsley; mildew resistant 'Loki' basil; snack-sized 'Iznik' cucumber, and strawberry- shaped 'Lovertino' tomato. Herbert, Natalia, Pierre, and other members of their client support team speak ten languages to facilitate their work. "One of the things that I especially like is that the seeds I sell are oriented to the home garden," Natalia adds.