By HELEN MURDOCH - The Press | Friday, 9 November 2007

When Don Grant told his partner, Yoka De Houwer, that glasshouses would one day cover the two hectares of kiwifruit they had purchased outside Riwaka, she laughed at him.

That was early 1996. Now, nearly 12 years later, the couple own Tasman Bay Herbs, a national fresh- cut-herb business turning over $1 million a year. Chance, positive business values, a desire to see people eat well and good planning are behind their success.

De Houwer, a lecturer on international comparative law from Belgium, was on holiday when she met Grant, a tour bus driver, in the mid-'90s. They went to Europe, but returned to New Zealand when De Houwer received her residency.

Searching for something interesting to do, they toured New Zealand, focusing on Nelson. It was a comment from an elderly woman in Appleby who grew herbs that headed them in the right direction, said Grant. "She said she had lots of calls from restaurants wanting fresh-cut herbs, but she was too old to start a business. I said to Yoka, `if you grow them I will sell them'."

A book on hydroponics that they spotted while they completed a two- week small-business course determined how they would grow their herbs. Their hunt for land took longer, but in March 1996 they bought part of a kiwifruit orchard in Dehra Doon, a unique microclimate west of Riwaka. They built a 375sq m glasshouse and learnt about hydroponic plumbing. De Houwer planted 200 varieties of herbs, most of which they had never heard of, to find out which grew the best.

In October that year they made their first sale – to the caterer providing for pioneering transport operator Sir Jack Newman's funeral.

"We were out cutting herbs by torch that night," said Grant. "But the next morning we saw we had sold all our salad herbs."

It was their first lesson in supply and demand. Within two weeks the herbs had regrown and they were back in business, this time supplying restaurants. The next year they employed their first staff and expanded the glasshouse to 900sq m. In 1998 they increased the area again, to 1600sq m, and had eight full-time staff. In 2000 they built a packhouse and chillers, started a 4500sq m outdoor garden for Mediterranean herbs, increased their area under glass and employed more staff.

Their market gradually changed from restaurants to supermarkets, and they now distribute 35 freshly cut herb and salad combinations throughout New Zealand. Their determination to be spray-free and environmentally friendly means customers know they can eat the herbs and salads straight out of their "breathable" bags within hours of picking, said Grant.

Good business values are important to the couple, who swear success is about making customers happy, being positive and only dealing with people they like. And having great staff is second only to good management, De Houwer said.

The couple has remained faithful to hydroponics, saying it is sustainable, gives plants every necessary nutrient and uses up to 20 times less water than conventional gardening.

However, the method which served them so well nearly spelled their downfall in 2002 when the soil- borne pathogen Pythium entered the hydroponics system through a defunct water steriliser. As a result, young plants struggled to grow and attracted aphids, and it nearly left Grant and De Houwer broke. But they struggled through, recently finding a way around the problem.

Now they are planning another glasshouse expansion. It will cover their last piece of available land to the back boundary, completing plans laid 11 years ago. They are also looking to the United States for investors keen on entering the hydroponics market.

"And all I could imagine when we started was a little greenhouse which would earn us some money," said De Houwer.

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