Floral industry members from 44 states and three countries staged some 565 flower giveaways this year for the Society of American Florists’ Petal It Forward. The feel-good initiative has a simple format — surprised consumers keep one bouquet or flower for themselves and pass a second along to someone else — and a powerful message that transcends any one outreach or day: Flowers make people happy.
SAF launched Petal It Forward six years ago to help floral industry members generate goodwill and glowing press coverage. The effort — spearheaded by SAF but organized at the community level by local florists, wholesalers, growers, suppliers and other industry-related groups — took on new meaning this year in the midst of a global pandemic that has led to higher levels of stress, anxiety and feelings of isolation among the public.
“University research commissioned by SAF proves that flowers and plants have health benefits that are so important and relevant right now — they help create moments of calm, increase feelings of happiness, reduce stress and more,” said Kate Penn, SAF’s CEO. “We knew those were important messages and experiences to share this year, and it’s been so inspiring to see how hundreds of floral industry members have run with the idea and implemented SAF tools and marketing ideas to create poignant and memorable floral moments among thousands of consumers in a safe, COVID-compliant way, all in just one day.”
Read more at the Society of American Florists (Katie Vincent)