Floral Update: The Show is over...

October 24, 2023

Hello, IFPA floral members!

The IFPA Global Produce & Floral Show is now over.  Wasn’t it great! So many visitors, so many beautiful Floral displays and that Floral Party on Friday night was super and lots of fun with the “Mad Hatter” theme.

As is tradition, we also celebrated the Floral Marketer of the Year and this year, the award went to Erin Esensee, Director of Floral for H-E-B.

Micky Byland says “she is the kind of Leader that inspires others to lead and is a true advocate for all.  Erin was selected for her dedication, innovation, and her commitment to help the Industry Grow their mass-market floral and consumer demands. She has inspired me and others to be empowered and allows people to fly. I am humbled to be a partner of her passion and proud to call her a friend as we continue to grow the Floral Industry.”

Carlos Oramas says ”when speaking with Erin you hear words like “We”, “industry”, “Floral”, “Community”… she has repeatedly offered her time (a finite resource) to organize IFPA events, support outreach initiatives and share her experience and perspective for the greater benefit.” As he puts it and I agree “Erin has gained much from Floral, and Floral has gained a great deal more from Erin. “ 

And this from Michelle Sutton “Erin being chosen as the Floral Marketer of the Year is an honor that she is most deserving of.  She is passionate, dedicated and her love for our industry is evident.” 

And as for me, it is an honor working with Erin.  She always has a smile, a willingness to help and an openness to take on new challenges in this industry as the leader she is.  I have seen first-hand her willingness to support many facets of this industry to promote flowers with South by Southwest and IFPAs Women’s Fresh Perspectives events, Petal if Forward Campaign and her willingness to meet new suppliers at the IFPA Round Tables, among many other things.  Thank you, Erin for all you have done to promote flowers from the breeder to the grower to the sales floor and then customer’s table.  You deserve this honor very much.

Well, the BIG SHOW is over but not forgotten.  We still have many things to do this year.  We have started a Floral Task Force for Sustainability.  This Task Force is small but MIGHTY, as it has some very passionate people on it that are trying to put items in order so we can tackle them one by one as they pertain to Floral from the Farm on thru to the Customer.  Joyce Aerts from Paardekooper/Broekhof USA, will be Co-Captain with Daniela Espana from Floreverde Sustainable Flowers.   We are looking for a few more to join to round out the team, and we are specifically looking for some passionate retailers that can make headway for the industry and gain insight for their own company. 

We will be looking at Sustainability from a European eye, where rules are already pretty strict, so we can get prepared before all those rules and regulations become mandatory in North America.   Please let me know personally if you are interested in being a part of this Floral Task Force.   We will meet virtually every 3 months to keep on track and will provide recommendations to the entire floral community based on our meetings and findings.

In January, Floral will present The State of Floral 2024.  We will have an in depth look at how the industry did as a whole and what we need to work on with growing and changing trends for the future.

Speaking of 2024, Valentine’s Day falls on a Wednesday.  This has historically been great for floral because many people will celebrate at home instead of out of the house because it’s a weekday.  What better way to celebrate than with flowers and plants to make your significant other feel appreciated?  It is also a work day so lots of flowers will be going to offices because of the “real, but not spoken- who got the biggest vase or plant” competition at work.

There is a lot that happens behind the scenes when preparing for Valentine’s Day and the earlier you get those orders to your suppliers, the better for ALL.  It’s hard to work to everyone’s advantage on a guestimate, so make it real with a P.O. and help the growers and farms know when to cut for you.

Shortly after Valentine’s Day, we’ll be back in Anaheim for the Floral Conference and the Breeder Showcase. The Showcase has grown 15% per year and this is where Supermarket Retailers across the US, Mexico and Canada can see what is new and different in the world of cut flowers and pot plants by bringing the Breeders to them. 

In addition to the showcase, we’ll hold a Conference on Trends, new information on preparing for GenZ and Alpha customers and how to survive and thrive in the world of AI.  Mark your calendars for February 27th and please plan to be there! You can register now!

We are looking for more plant breeders to round out this coming Breeder Showcase.  If you know of any, send them my way as we want to appeal to the whole department and all customers.  Everyone is looking for the new and the different. Once we’ve identified all the buyers, we’ll open the program to growers.  This will allow the strength of the TRIANGLE to work between the Breeder-Buyer-Grower all working together.  

You should have all received your renewal notices for IFPA Floral Memberships. The renewal calendar means that everyone renews at the same time starting on 1/1/24.   Renewing on time helps you retain your points which I know, is important to everyone!  I would love to see all of your friendly faces again for another year.   We can do a lot of things together so please join us in networking, advocating, learning, guiding, and making this the best darn organization out there.

Floral Update: The Show is over...

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