Pandemic-driven popularity of flowers and plants, supply chain challenges, recruiting and engaging a reliable workforce—these are just some of the floral industry trends and challenges that about 40 members of the SAF volunteer leadership identified during the association’s recent Spring meetings.

Each Spring and Fall, the SAF Retailer, Wholesaler and Grower Councils and the PFCI Trustees meet to take stock of the top industry trends and challenges and discuss how SAF can help address them. At the recent Spring Council meetings, held March 11 and 12, while growers, retailers, and wholesalers cited  challenges specific to their industry segment, many issues cut across the industry as a whole.

Workforce Woes

All three sectors say one of their biggest challenges is attracting experienced or qualified employees, and then subsequently, retaining them. “Even though the unemployment rate is high, it is still challenging to attract talent at most positions,” says David Torres of DWF Wholesale Florist in Denver, Colorado. For growers, that issue manifests in transportation and logistics. “Driver shortages are causing challenges in executing spring peak shipping needs,” says Joaquin De la Torre of Ball SB, in Miami, Florida.

Stacie Lee Banks, of Lee’s Flower & Card Shop, in Washington, D.C., concurs with Torres, noting once you get good employees, you have to keep them engaged in order to retain them. “My most recent employee who moved away left on good terms, but she told me that she wished we did more to ’enrich her experience here.’” Cameron Pappas, of Norton’s Florist, in Birmingham, Alabama says he wants to help employees add value to their workplace experience, but “it’s hard to find the time.”

Supply Chain Issues

Supply chain issues, which have created a shortage of hardgoods, are also affecting all segments. “The combination of trending items and supply chain challenges are creating a very tight availability for some products,” says Susie Bachman, of Bachman’s, Inc., in Minneapolis, Minnesota. But it’s not just the floriculture industry, says Matt Altman, of Altman Plants/Floragem, in Vista, California. “Supply chain issues are happening across industries – freight delays and costs, commodity prices increasing (lumber, steel, plastic) and other input components are seeing huge inflation. We are having to stock higher quantities of our raw materials in order to ensure we are able to produce on time.”

Retailer Andy Fiannaca, of Sparks Florist, in Sparks, Nevada, is seeing the same thing, saying “It is becoming more difficult to source regular/common hardgoods as they are out of stock from various distributors and ‘anticipated in stock’ dates keep being pushed further and further back.”

While all segments of the industry know COVID-19 is mostly to blame for the delays, some still were unprepared for how long the shortages would last. “We focused on making sure our payments to all vendors were paid within the same terms as pre-COVID. We worked with some and prepaid on future purchases to ensure their cash flow was sufficient,” says Lenny Walker of Kennicott Brothers in Chicago, Illinois. “But, truthfully, I was caught off guard on how long the manufacturing side of our industry would be impacted.”

Looking Ahead

While COVID-19 has played a significant role in the challenges the industry has faced, it also has opened the door for some new trends.

“People are spending more time at home due to COVID-19 and ‘homesteading’ by improving their gardens and home décor,” Altman says. “Many have moved to suburban areas that have more room for gardening.  This has caused a big increase in demand and interest in potted plants for gardens and home decoration.” notes Altman. Council members also noted the surge in plant business during the Fall 2020 meetings, which prompted SAF to produce The Great Big Plant Event, launched on March 1, with on-demand videos and live events to keep up with the new trend in houseplants.

The move to digital has also provided opportunity for all segments of the industry. “Since Mother’s Day 2020 we have been inundated with web orders that have given us a 17 percent increase in profits last year,” says Banks. Kaitlin Radebaugh, of Radebaugh Florist & Greenhouses, Towson, Maryland, has also seen a dramatic increase in online orders, which has been beneficial in increasing the sales of add-ons such as balloons, chocolates, and liquor.

But with the new business come some growing pains as well. Jennifer Barnard, of Tillie’s Flower Shop, Wichita, Kansas, says the technology needs to be top-notch. “Consumers order more online, but they then expect a lot like the big-box stores,” she says. “Florists should have the capability to send automatic messages that their package/bouquet is on its ways or ready for pick up.” In addition, florists need to keep up with the website content needed to drive online orders. Barnard says she has to rotate images on their shop’s home page more often to engage customers.

The good news? The pandemic has helped the industry capture consumer attention, and done right, e-commerce can help meet their needs. “E-commerce is now more important than ever,” says Rita Jo Schoultz, of Alaska Perfect Peony, in Fritz Creek, Alaska. “The average person is now more interested in cut flowers and sharing them with their friends and families.”

Following these discussions, SAF volunteer leaders brainstorm ways SAF can help the industry leverage these trends and address the challenges. “Our volunteer leaders really roll their sleeves up to help our staff team develop content for our upcoming events, create new events or platforms for peer-to-peer learning and so much more,” said Kate Penn, CEO of SAF. “Thanks to that effort, SAF members can look forward to new programming and content and tools in the coming months that tap into the opportunities and the challenges we’re facing right now, and also will help plan for future growth.”

SAF Editor’s Note: Interested in being part of these discussions or getting more involved with these discussions and other SAF initiatives? Let SAF know by emailing Kimberly Hay. (khay@safnow.org)

Jennifer McNally is the interim editor of SAF NOW.