Floral Notes From the Road

April 22, 2022

First things first, as we approach the end of Spring, what that also means is that university students and future grads are looking to secure internships and new jobs. If you’re hiring, especially for a recent grad or internship role, we are happy to help! Shoot Barbara Hochman at BHochman@freshproduce.com an email and she can tap into our network to help share your openings with some incredible students.

Something else that should be on your horizon is The Global Produce & Floral Show, which will be held in Orlando in October. The show floor is filling up fast, so I highly recommend that if you’re interested in showcasing your product, you consider applying soon. We love to see a full floral expo floor, and I know I’m looking forward to that familiar hum of excitement come October.

Looking back, we are still collecting data and responses from the Easter holiday. We’ve started collecting information to provide a pulse check of how the industry fared during the holiday and will be factoring that into our other data to continue to track the flow of the market. That will be coming out soon, but we’ll be sending that via email so check your inboxes!

For anyone who was in Anaheim with us, it was great seeing you! We kicked off the event with a sold-out Breeder Showcase which brought together the breeders and supermarket buyers. We look at this as part of the three legged stool; the grower, breeder and buyer (supermarket retail) all report the best experience when they’re working well to meet and exceed consumer tastes and demands. For the showcase, it means that Breeders get the right feedback about the consumer, the grower can produce something sustainability and the retailer can delight and serve their customers well.

Consumers have been on our minds forever, but as we get more data, we’re getting better and better at understanding their motivations and buying patterns. In some cases, our consumers don’t know what they want until we give them the options, so creativity, innovation and feedback is essential. In other cases, we’re seeing that our consumers are thinking about flowers as home décor and for “just because” occasions. There is still lots of opportunity for special occasions and gift giving. Quality, price, and selection are key, but what we’re seeing is that florists are still seen as the gold standard for those special moments.

We’ll talk more about the opportunities and avenues for growth at the upcoming Floral Conference - Miami and of course in our upcoming research releases. The good news is that our data points are lining up. Our research and consumer studies are lining up with our sales data. We know that home décor and just because occasions are in our wheelhouse now, which is why we saw such growth at the beginning of the pandemic. But, what can we do about the other opportunities ahead of us like weddings, special occasions and more?

This information is not just nice to know; it’s essential to moving our industry forward.

We don’t all have all the answers all the time, which is why it’s so important to get together, share our knowledge and experience, and collaborate on moving the industry forward. On that note, we hope we see you in Miami in May and definitely on the show floor in Orlando!

Floral Notes From the Road

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