How was Valentine’s Day 2023 in the US? “In the Valentines week, sales were for many the same as 2022 and for some sales were up by about 2-5%”, says Joost Bongaerts, owner and CEO of Florabundance, a certified American Grown wholesaler, based in Carpinteria (CA) that supplies florists, flower markets, floral designers, special event companies, and other professionals in the floral industry all over the country. He spoke to several growers, wholesale floral companies, and retailers on Valentine’s Day. All in all, they seem to be pleased. The availability of roses which is still the number one flower for this holiday, was good, and the quality was great. Also, logistics were greatly improved compared to last year, and because Valentines was on a Tuesday there was time to be well prepared and organized to get products to the customers around the country.
Joost Bongaerts.
Fewer roses from Californian growers
For Florabundance, sales were about the same as in 2022. “The color breakdown was (roughly) 60 red and 40 colors. “The quality of roses was very good, better than 2022. And that could be because the logistics are back to normal after Covid. We import roses and also offer American Grown roses, but due to cold weather in December and January and the very high natural gas prices, a number of our California growers decided not to heat their greenhouses and, as a result, had very little production for Valentine’s week.”
Custom packed flowers that went out for valentines
Everyone is a little more conservative
In addition to the rose, which is still the number one flower for Valentine’s Day, Bongaerts saw an increased demand for Japanese Sweet Peas , Snapdragons, Carnations, Stock, and a lot of American-grown and imported Tulips from the Netherlands. “Especially the heavier grades and fancier types like double, drizzle, and parrot tulips”, he adds. The sales team reported there were a few last-minute fill-ins on Monday, but overall, people seem to be selling what they got, and most said they didn’t want to overbuy and would rather sell out. “Everyone is a little more conservative these days.”
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Promoting flowers for everyday use
Promoting flowers for everyday use Besides running Florabundance, Bongaerts is also promoting and supporting the industry in several ways as a volunteer; he is Director for the California Flower Growers and Shippers (Calflowers )and Marketing Chair for ThatFlowerFeeling Foundation. According to Bongaerts, there are challenges from some in the news media coming out with negative stories about flowers in general, and particularly about imported flowers and sustainable issues, “but most in our industry know and understand the facts”, he says. “80 % of the flowers bought in the USA are imported from South America and other countries to meet the demand.”
Flowers are gaining in popularity, and the general public is getting educated about flowers for everyday use, how flowers make people happy, and could be part of their self-care routine. The national advertising campaign ThatFlowerFeeling, the campaign that promotes flowers for everyday use of flowers, should be supported by everyone in the floral industry.” For more information about our campaign please visit www.ThatFowerfeeling.org
Calflowers Case Study about flowers and the American consumer.
For more information: 
Joost Bongaerts, Owner and CEO
Florabundance
Email: [email protected]
https://www.florabundance.com/