Forty years ago, Rainbow Greenhouses began as a modest 3,000-square-foot operation founded by Wilma and Stan Vander Waal. Since then, the company has grown into a multi-site organisation specializing in ornamental horticulture, with four facilities spanning British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.
With a focus on tropical indoor foliage and annuals for gardens and patios, Rainbow Greenhouses has carved out a leadership role in serving major retail chains such as Home Depot, Walmart, Costco, and IKEA, along with numerous independent garden centers. With a market reach stretching from San Diego to Thunder Bay, their footprint is built on quality, efficiency, and innovation.
"We focus on being a premium grower and supplier," Stan says. "Our assortment is deep, and our strength lies not only in the plants we deliver but also in the full-service model we provide. That means supporting retailers with consistent product availability, in-store service, and merchandising solutions that help them grow the category year after year."
Becoming more sustainable and efficient through the years
In recent years, Rainbow has faced rising costs and increasing consumer price sensitivity - an industry-wide challenge. But rather than compromise on quality or reduce margins, the company has chosen to lean into innovation.
"We're not in a position to just keep raising consumer prices," Stan explains. "So internally, our focus has shifted to driving efficiency. That includes optimizing labor, reducing product waste, and simplifying our assortment to enable higher adoption of automation and advanced systems."
One of the key steps in this strategy has been an investment in precision fertigation and water management technology, using ErfGoed Watersystems as a supplier.
Smart infrastructure for a smart future
Rainbow Greenhouses recently completed a significant infrastructure upgrade with ErfGoed Watersystems, a Dutch company known for innovative greenhouse solutions. The new setup includes advanced fertigation and water management systems, critical components in Rainbow's strategy for sustainability and production excellence.
According to Stan, "One of the biggest influences on plant quality is how you manage water, nutrients, and water quality. ErfGoed has given us the ability to consistently deliver high-quality nutrition and hydration to our plants, when and where we need it."
The integration of automated nutrient mixing, accurate dosing, and seamless software coordination through Rainbow's Argus climate control system has made the entire operation more agile and responsive.
"This system allows us to manage multiple crops with precise nutrient concentrations," he notes. "And it's fast. We can adapt quickly and efficiently, crop to crop, without adding complexity or time."
ErfGoed highlighted the project in a recent LinkedIn post, calling it "a major step forward in precision agriculture and sustainability," praising Rainbow for their clean layouts, automation, and commitment to growing smarter while wasting less.
Despite past hesitations about adopting European technology, largely due to metric system differences and supply chain concerns, Rainbow now embraces global partnerships. With a strong in-house maintenance team and better access to spare parts, barriers to working with European suppliers like ErfGoed have fallen away.
Lessons from the past, vision for the future
Rainbow Greenhouses once ventured into vegetable crops, including a short-term tomato trial. While the results were promising, they ultimately stepped away due to the operational pressure and marginal yield performance. "We found that trying to squeeze in an off-season crop like tomatoes left no downtime for our teams," Stan recalls. "It just wasn't sustainable."
That lesson reinforced Rainbow's focus on core strengths - ornamental plants and vegetable starters for home gardens, and helped shape their strategy moving forward.
"Simplifying our assortment and focusing on what's most relevant to the customer not only reduces complexity but opens the door for better automation and more sustainable growth," he states.
The company is currently undergoing a generational transition, with the next generation preparing to take the reins. But far from a winding-down phase, this marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter.
"We see significant opportunity in our current categories," Stan shares. "And yes, we are planning for growth, both in terms of business strategy and physical infrastructure. There are another seven hectares in our development plans over the next two years."
For more information:
Rainbow Greenhouses
Stan Vander Waal
[email protected]
linkedin.com/stan-vander-waal
linkedin.com/rainbow-greenhouses
www.rainbow.ca
Argus Control Systems
#101 – 18445 53 Ave.
Surrey, British Columbia
Canada V3S 7A4
T: +1 (604) 538-3531 or 1-800-667-2090 (toll-free in Canada and the USA)
F: +1 (604) 538-4728
[email protected]
www.arguscontrols.com
ErfGoed
Bredeweg 59
2751 GH Moerkapelle
Netherlands
T +31 (0)79 593 38 00
[email protected]
www.erfgoed.com