5/5/2023 0 Comments Flower hidden flowers![]() ![]() “For Valentine’s Day, which is different than most other holidays, most consumers stick with reds, pinks and sometimes whites,” Vicino said. FTD proactively slimmed down the number of designed arrangements. Minimizing variability makes the florists’ job easier, and there’s less excess product. ![]() For the February holiday, though, 75% of the orders come from men. Typically, FTD consumers are 60-65% women for most floral ordering, she said, including Mother’s Day. That’s because most of the orders come from men, who tend to delay making their flower plans. About 250 million roses are grown for the holiday.Īnd even though FTD starts planning a year in advance, “Valentine’s Day is a last-minute holiday,” she said. They typically come from South American countries like Chile, Columbia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Roses are the biggest seller, with 63% of floral purchases including red roses, according to the Society of American Florists. Growers start growing the roses a year ahead of time, Vicino said. They send their supply list to the growers in mid-January, for arrival starting February 1. The day after Christmas, wholesaler Hartford Florist Supply sends price lists to retailers, along with their prior year’s orders for planning purposes. They’ll discuss the type and quantity of flowers each florist may need for a productive holiday. While FTD starts putting together their partner marketing materials three to six months before Valentine’s Day, they start talking to florists about their Valentine’s Day orders a few months ahead. “For the hot selling items, we want to make sure we secured those for next year, like containers and vases that go into these arrangements,” said Heidi Vicino, manager of partnership marketing at FTD. The Valentine’s Day timelineįTD has a long lead time for the flowers and containers, with both ordered nine months to a year ahead. Hartford Florist Supply said that a cold chain interruption can cause a 30-40% loss of vase life for the flowers, even if they’re put back into a cold environment. Unfortunately, not all regional airports, domestic airplanes or regional wholesalers have that refrigeration. According to Hartford Florist Supply, the flowers do best when cooled to 33-35 degrees at the grower’s site, and maintained around that temperature during their entire journey through the cold chain, starting with the truck ride from the grower to the local airport. The longer the flowers remain in a cooled area, the longer they’ll survive. These stems are stored in refrigerated rooms at the airport before hopefully moving via refrigerated truck or plane to other parts of the country, with some going directly to consumers via UPS or FedEx. Customs and Border Patrol inspected 801 million cut flower stems during the Valentine’s Day period, January 1 to February 14. Miami International Airport is the main port of entry for the planes full of flowers. The rest of the flowers primarily come from South America, Africa and Europe. California is the main domestic floral producer, but it only accounts for only a small percentage of the flowers sold here, though these flowers too must be maintained in the proper environment for quality purposes. That’s because most of the flowers sold in the U.S. Lovebirds around the country can thank the cold chain for allowing them to adorn their tables with blooming buds every February, and actually all year round. High volume, perishable products, fickle winter weather and long transportation routes means that the supply chain must be working smoothly to get the fresh flowers in the customers’ hands at the right time. The biggest floral holidays are Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, but Valentine’s Day is a big percentage of yearly sales, said Victor DiPrato, a sales person at the wholesale Hartford Florist Supply in Connecticut. Don’t underestimate the importance of this holiday to the floral industry. ![]()
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