There are endless sales opportunities for the winter Holiday season that must not be overlooked.

In fact, a Floral Trends Consumer Tracking Study conducted a national online poll to determine the percent of adults that purchase plants or flowers as gifts for the holiday season. The poll was based on the 5 major holidays; Christmas/Hanukkah, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day/ Easter/Passover and Thanksgiving. Christmas/Hanukkah maintained 30% of the total transactions and dollar value based on consumer purchases of fresh flowers and plants at all outlets.

The survey shows that the most popular fresh flowers purchased for Christmas are mixed flowers, roses, miscellaneous single flowers and carnations. The study showed that 54% of the total purchases were fresh cut flowers used for home decoration and entertaining. While the majority were gifts for friends and loved ones, 34% were bought for personal use.

This study proves demand and validates the winter holidays as strong floral holidays. Click here to see the full results of this excellent survey.

 

Takeaways from Proflora 2009

I had the pleasure of participating in this year’s Proflora convention in Bogota, Colombia a few weeks ago. It’s been years since I visited Bogota and this convention. I am amazed at the transformation of the city since my last visit. Bogota is alive with action. The city offers this convention a vibrant environment, farms to visit and plenty of space for exhibitors.

Proflora gathers growers, breeders, propagators, freight companies, freight forwarders, sea cargo companies, etc. with buyers from all over the world. We meet buyers from Japan, Russia, France, England and just about everywhere else flowers are bought and sold. The convention consisted of two large showrooms with many booths representing every type of service provider to our industry. The showrooms were beautiful, actually better than I had ever seen before. Larger companies’ booths were really big with innovative displays. But even the smaller producer stood out with outstanding quality flowers and creative use of small space. I congratulate all exhibitors for giving us buyers a terrific experience.

The booths at the convention and the tours of the farms really 'wowed' me with enthusiasm for the flower industry. Everyone I spoke with was looking for ways to improve their specific aspect of the business. When visiting the farms, I was amazed at the investments the growers have committed to in order to provide first class flowers and improve their processes. Over the years, the farms have invested heavily in improving their coolers, refrigerated trucks, packing/grading rooms, greenhouse construction and management. And of course, farms are always researching and investing in new varieties for the U.S. market. Varieties like Free Spirit, Sweetness, Latina, and Red Paris were excellent and show tremendous promise.

While the enthusiasm for the industry was apparent, it was also obvious that growers are facing many challenges. Growers are dealing with the devaluation of the dollar, increased packaging and growing costs, smaller orders, and a lack of committed orders. These challenges are forcing many growers to cut costs and scale back on improvements and investments in new varieties. In fact, there will be a percentage of current growers who will not make it to Valentine’s Day 2010.

Proflora opened my eyes to the farms’ situation. We demand quality products, packed and shipped consistently, dependable volumes at peak times, the right varieties, colors and assortments that help us stay in business. Our market in the U.S. is working hard to maintain low prices when the cost of growing is increasing dramatically. Something has to give, or flowers will become much more limited, which will force prices up. We need to get better at selling and marketing our products and services. England was able to double consumer consumption through high quality programs and marketing in 5 years! Why can’t we do the same in the U.S.? A concentrated effort by all is the only way to control our own destiny.