In 2008 Franck (then 22 years old) and Enya (then 19 years old) set up their first company. A company focused on selling trees and plants to consumers. The plants they sold were immediately purchased from Franck's father's nursery. Because a large part of the trees and plants came from Italy, De Italiaanse Oase (Italian Oasis) was used as the company name. Franck, then still working at the nursery in Bleiswijk, noticed that more and more consumers in the surrounding area were interested in the special trees and plants they traded in the nursery. Where "De Italiaanse Oase" first only sold the plants at local weekly markets, an new and online sales channel was sought during the year. At the time, it was still a challenge to find the right plants online and by making smart use of Marktplaats, among others, part of the range could be offered online. These online orders were packed during the week after working hours and then neatly delivered to the local post office. Because more and more parcels were slowly being sent, they decided to have a website built for "De Italiaanse Oase".