In January, Veiling Rhein-Maas named German florist Julia Luy its ‘Customer of the Year 2026’. The reason? Despite competition from DIY stores and supermarkets, and changing consumer buying habits, Luy has managed to keep her business’s turnover stable. Her secret? A strong focus on innovation, including in the digital sphere. This is attracting new, younger customers.
A healthy dose of positive energy. For Julia Luy, that was the greatest reward of the recognition Veiling Rhein-Maas gave her at the start of this year. “Our turnover didn’t suddenly skyrocket because we won the award,” laughs the 40-year-old entrepreneur, “but it did increase our visibility through an article in the local paper, videos shown at the IPM, and the contacts I made during the award ceremony. What I liked most was the sheer amount of positivity it brought.”
Luy is the owner of Blumen und Floristik Luy in the German town of Kastellaun. With a population of around 6,000, it is located in the Hunsrück region, a predominantly agricultural area in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Her grandparents started a flower shop there nearly a hundred years ago, and her parents later took over the business. “At first, I had no ambition to take over the company, because I saw how many hours my parents put in,” she says. “I did love working with flowers, though, so I went on to study horticulture. I learned about every part of the sector, but in the end I decided to specialise in the business side. That knowledge is what is most crucial when running a successful company.”
