History of Folat 30 years
In 2023 we celebrated our 30th anniversary!
Folat was founded on June 23rd by Marc Mulckhuyse and Alex Adrichem. With a great passion for party products, an endless drive to move forward and an always positive team spirit. Folat grew from 2 guys in a Volkswagen Golf selling foil balloons to an international party products manufacturer with a team of 90 employees. It’s time to look back at how it all started, and ahead towards a bright future, because: we are only at the beginning.
A PROFITABLE GRADUATION
It all started with a graduation project in which Marc and Alex advised an importer of foil balloons to focus his company strategy. They got paid for their thesis in foil balloons. On the next day they went to the marathon of Rotterdam, inflated the balloons with helium and sold out within a couple of hours. Having doubled the money that the foil balloons were worth.
GREAT OPPORTUNITIES
After their big success at the marathon, Marc and Alex analyzed the market a bit further and noticed that foil balloons were only sold on the street. Already being two bright entrepreneurs they saw considerable opportunities to sell foil balloons to retail. So off they went. Positioning themselves as importer, driving around in their little Volkswagen Golf, selling to party shops, hospital shops, florists and tobacconist´s and eventually expanding into selling party products too.
BOLD AND BRAVE
Somewhere around the year 2000 Marc and Alex decided to be bold and contacted Studio100 about buying the license to sell K3 products. K3 is a girl music group that was very popular at that time. The studio said yes, under the condition they also committed to selling products from some other children TV characters. Despite not being able to pay a guarantee amount, both parties took a chance based on confidence and trust. And all of a sudden, a few of the licensed TV characters became exceedingly popular. Resulting into big interest from big retailers. Volume increased and the growth continued from there on. Expanding to outside the Benelux, becoming a market leader in Europe and still growing steadily in our thirty´s.
FULL OF POTENTIAL
So, how about now? 30 years since those two young guys went to Rotterdam and doubled their wages. Is the party over? Is the market saturated? Well, nothing is further from the truth. Although Alex saw his future at the other side of the world, for Marc the party has only just begun. “New parties are crossing over from all over the world”, says Marc Mulckhuyse, “Especially from nations like the US and the UK, where everything is celebrated big: lots of balloons, big cakes and loads of decoration. Now, through all the online and social channels, everybody is getting influenced by it. A party garland and a bunch of balloons are hardly enough anymore, people want a party theme, reflected in every detail, and a balloon arch to match. In all the past 30 years, it is only until recently that we start to celebrate bigger and on more occasions. This is an underestimated market full of potential and we are only at the beginning.”
EUROPE'S NUMBER 1
The unrelenting positivity of Folat’s founder is what spikes our ambition and the way we operate daily. Daan Nieuwland, CCO Folat, explains: “Folat is a team effort. Our clever, committed, enthusiastic and loyal people who not only create party products but also a prosperous work ethos, are why we are thriving. Apart from the fact that Folat has always been persistent. Scaling up on time, showing originality at the right moments and having the guts to take financial risks. It is an achievement to turn 30 this year, however, we are not done yet. Our ambition is to be Europe’s number 1 party products manufacturer. That means we will continue to push ourselves to remain innovative, stay eager, be bold and keep delivering party products that make people smile.”
CHEERS
As a company we have a glass-is-half-full-approach and with that glass we always celebrate our successes. On Friday the 23rd of June we will do just that. With the whole Folat team, because together we deliver smiles. Already for 30 years and ready for the next 30.
30 YEARS OF SMILES
Have a look at some memorable moments of the past 30 years!
WE' D LIKE TO TELL YOU A LOVE STORY
Folat´s true love includes foil balloons and helium. That started when Marc and Alex wished to get helium tanks inside shops to fill balloons on sight. However, shops weren´t interested. So they started with post offices and created a service with which people could send a ´Happy Birthday´ balloon to anyone everywhere. When someone had arranged everything in the post office shop, the post office sent a fax to the Folat office. There they filled the balloon, put it in a box and sent it away at the end of the day. This turned into a huge success. So then Marc and Alex looked for other places to offer this balloon service. Like the airline Transavia where travelers could then send a balloon while being on the plane. And why stop at birthdays? Valentines Day offered a perfect momentum, resulting in madness around the brand and an amazing, prospering time that still evokes warm memories.
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