Andrej Suske on Lean Operations, Forecasting Discipline, and Building Cascade Tropicals

Key Takeaways

• Andrej Suske has built Cascade Tropicals around reliability and execution, deliberately prioritizing consistent order fulfillment, accurate inventory, and predictable delivery timelines over rapid or speculative expansion.
• Cascade Tropicals operates a hybrid supply model, with roughly 30% of its houseplants grown in-house and the remainder sourced from more than 150 growers nationwide, allowing the company to offer broad assortment depth while maintaining supply flexibility.
• Lean management principles play a central role in Cascade’s greenhouse and fulfillment operations, with digital systems used to forecast demand, plan propagation and transplanting, track labor efficiency, and reduce process bottlenecks without increasing workforce pressure.
• The company’s digital ordering platform, including optional pre-pricing, is designed to reduce friction for retail customers by minimizing manual handling, streamlining replenishment cycles, and aligning deliveries with peak weekend sales windows.
• A grower-first mindset continues to shape long-term decision-making at Cascade Tropicals, with Suske emphasizing accountability to customer demand, continuous learning from mistakes, and maintaining product quality as a baseline expectation rather than a differentiator.

Cascade Tropicals has developed into a highly structured houseplant distribution business serving retailers across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. At the center of that evolution is Andrej Suske, Owner of Cascade Tropicals, whose approach emphasizes operational discipline, forecasting accuracy, and consistency for retail customers.

In a recent episode of Greenhouse Success Stories, hosted by Trina Semenchuk, Suske shared an in-depth look at how Cascade Tropicals operates today, how the business navigated rapid expansion during the pandemic, and why reliability—not scale—remains the company’s primary objective.

Andrej Suske’s Vision for Cascade Tropicals

Cascade Tropicals was founded more than 35 years ago during an earlier houseplant boom, originally operating as a redistribution business supplying plant shops and garden centers in the Seattle area. Since acquiring the company in 2017, Andrej Suske has expanded its geographic reach to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and, more recently, much of the western United States.

Today, Cascade Tropicals operates a hybrid model. Approximately 30% of its houseplants are grown in its own facilities, while the remaining volume is sourced from more than 150 growers across the United States. This structure allows Cascade to offer broad assortment depth while maintaining flexibility in supply.

“My goal is not to be the biggest,” Andrej Suske said during the conversation. “My goal is to be the best houseplant vendor here, especially in the Pacific Northwest.”

The focus, he explained, is ensuring that when retailers need houseplants, Cascade is the first supplier they think of—because of reliability, quality, and speed.

Reliability as a Competitive Advantage

A recurring theme throughout the discussion with host Trina Semenchuk was Cascade Tropicals’ emphasis on execution. Orders placed through Cascade’s online platform by Tuesday evening are delivered by Friday, timed specifically to support weekend retail traffic.

Cascade tracks order fulfillment weekly and consistently reports rates above 98%, a figure Suske described as essential to customer trust.

“If a customer orders 100 plants, they should receive at least 98,” Suske said. “That reliability matters to me.”

Rather than competing on price alone, Cascade positions itself as a dependable partner for independent plant shops, garden centers, interior landscapers, and institutional clients, including large-scale installations such as Amazon’s Seattle Spheres.

Digital Ordering and Pre-Pricing

Cascade Tropicals operates entirely through an online ordering system that allows customers to browse inventory, view plant images, and place orders digitally. The system also enables optional pre-pricing, with retail price stickers applied before shipment.

According to Andrej Suske, the intent is to reduce workload at the store level.

“If we do our job right, the retailer just puts the plants on the floor, sells them, and places another order the next week,” he explained.

The platform is updated continuously, with annual improvements focused on making the ordering process more self-service and reducing the need for manual intervention from Cascade’s sales team.

Lean Management Inside the Greenhouse

Beyond distribution, Suske has invested heavily in applying lean management principles to Cascade’s in-house growing operations. Production planning, propagation schedules, and transplant timing are driven by internal forecasting tools rather than intuition alone.

Employees access planting and production instructions digitally through internal systems, eliminating paper-based workflows. Labor efficiency is tracked at the process level—such as planting, order pulling, and propagation—to identify bottlenecks and improve workflows.

“We measure output per labor hour so we can improve the process,” Suske said. “Not to push people harder, but to remove inefficiencies.”

This focus has allowed Cascade to increase throughput within its existing footprint, rather than relying on continuous physical expansion.

Pricing Models and Market Pressure

Cascade’s internal pricing models account for plant inputs, including cuttings, pots, substrate, labor, energy, and time spent on the bench. Seasonal cost differences are incorporated, with higher internal ‘rent’ applied during winter months due to heating and lighting requirements.

However, Andrej Suske acknowledged that market conditions often constrain pricing decisions.

“Prices have been under pressure over the last few years,” he noted. “Sometimes it’s difficult to make an item profitable, even when you understand your costs.”

In some cases, Cascade continues to carry lower-margin crops to preserve assortment breadth and support long-term customer relationships.

Andrej Suske On Navigating COVID-Era Expansion

During the pandemic-driven houseplant boom, Cascade Tropicals expanded significantly faster than initially planned. Greenhouse capacity was increased well ahead of original timelines to keep pace with demand.

While the growth created opportunity, Suske described the period as one that required careful risk management.

“I always had a plan in my head for what I would do if the market dropped,” he said.

As demand normalized, Cascade responded by expanding its sales territory, professionalizing its sales organization, and tightening forecasting and inventory accuracy rather than pursuing additional physical expansion.

A Grower’s Perspective Still Shapes Decisions

Throughout the conversation with Trina Semenchuk, Andrej Suske repeatedly emphasized that his identity as a grower continues to inform how he runs the business. His early experience selling plants as a child taught him accountability to the customer.

“If something didn’t sell, it wasn’t the customer’s fault,” Suske said. “It meant I didn’t offer the right product at the right time.”

That perspective, he explained, remains central to Cascade’s culture—owning mistakes, learning from them, and avoiding repetition.

Looking Ahead For Andrej Suske

Rather than building additional greenhouses, Cascade Tropicals’ near-term focus is on improving efficiency, refining forecasting accuracy, strengthening supplier coordination, and continuing to enhance its digital ordering platform.

“My goal is that customers don’t need to call us,” Suske said. “They should be able to do everything online, easily and reliably.”

By prioritizing systems, consistency, and customer experience, Cascade aims to grow within its existing infrastructure while maintaining operational discipline.