It is March 8 today, which means International Women's Day. It is a holiday about celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women and is usually widely celebrated with flowers in Russia and other Eastern European countries, but it is gaining more and more popularity in other countries as well and increasingly more companies are marketing it and putting their women in the spotlight. Let's look at how the popularity of this floral holiday increased globally.
Dutch flowers
First, we take a look at the growers' side. Many Dutch flowers used to go to Russia before the war, but, as we reported in yesterday's article. It has not been a good holiday for Dutch flowers this year.
Colombia
Many flowers also come from Latin America. According to Colombian grower Pablo Bazzani of Plazoleta, Woman's Day overall was pretty decent. "Demand from our customers reached by far our expectations," he says. Russia is still their strongest destination for them during this holiday, "however, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, and even the Netherlands spiked their orders."
Some delayed production after Valentine's and excellent weather in Colombia, fortunately, boosted the availability for their customers. And fortunately, logistics were smooth despite the challenges caused by the earthquake in Türkiye. "Turkish Airlines is an important logistics valve, especially for South American flowers traveling to these destinations. Of course, their priority at that point was taking care of this tragedy. That at some point was our fear, but that is something that is always there in our business."
Italy
In Italy, Women's Day, or Festa della Donna, is celebrated with mimosa. This year, the demand was similar to last year, but production was lower and prices higher. And as the prices were already fixed for the supermarkets, margins are lower, Luca Quilici of Flora Toscana told us. Flora Toscana is a cooperative in the Italian horticultural sector, and only during this time of the year they sell mimosa. Click here to read the complete article.
Eastern countries
And when looking at the buyers' side, the majority of the flowers for this holiday go to Russia and Eastern European countries. As said in yesterday's article, it is difficult to estimate if Russian and Ukrainian consumers even want to buy flowers. Women's Day is an important holiday in these countries, but given all the suffering this year, they might skip it.
US
In the US, international Women's Day has been hyped for some years now. It isn't a big holiday for flowers yet, but large flower delivery companies like FTD and 1-800 Flowers, for example, are all having special Women's Day promotions for this holiday. Also, last week, on March 4, American Tulip Day took place in San Francisco in honor of International Women's Day.
At the retail level, marketing of many gifts than flowers seems to be the case, Joost Bongaerts of Florabundance tells us. "Flowers sales are up perhaps 5 % but in geographical areas where Russians, Polish, and Ukrainian and other former Balkan land citizens live."
Estonia
In Estonia, Women's Day – Naistepäev in Estonian – is usually a busy time for florists, where usually hundreds of thousands of flowers are being sold. This year, however, more florists decided to import tulips from Finland, ERR reports.
Jaak Ungerson, manager of one Tallinn-based supplier company, told ERR that they decided not to take any big risks with energy prices and are importing tulips whose bulbs are, naturally, of Dutch origin, while they are grown in greenhouses closer to Estonia – in Finland.
And ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) reported Tuesday that flowers are 5-10 percent more expensive this year than last year, largely due to the soaring energy prices and inflation experienced since then, click here to read the complete article on ERR.
China
It was also busy at the Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center, Macau Business.com reports. "According to Li Zhijun, with the Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center, the flower trading index exceeded 1,000 points for two consecutive days last week, setting a recent trading record."
"The age range and coverage of the consumer group for the festive flower purchases are wide, with an increasing variety of popular flower types. Furthermore, with the abundance of seasonal spring flowers, consumers have a greater range of options to choose from," Li told Xinhua. Click here to read the complete article at Macau Business.com.
Australia
In Australia, floral companies are also promoting Women's Day bouquets. Melbourne Fresh Flowers is advising consumers on which flowers or arrangements they should buy to celebrate this holiday.
Companies putting women in the spotlight
Today, many companies put their women or women in their industry in the spotlight. One example is Asocolflores which pays tribute to the Colombian women in the country's floriculture industry as they play a fundamental role in the Colombian flower-growing sector. "They are the "core" of the whole process. The love and dedication with which they work every day are reflected in the beauty of each flower sold around the world.
Colombian floriculture generates daily opportunities and welfare for people. The exports of Colombian flowers currently account for over 200,000 formal jobs, 110,000 of which are direct jobs, and the remaining 90,000 are indirect jobs, and 7% of the country's GDP. Furthermore, if we consider the relevant roles that around 78% of the women have in matters of unpaid care and household tasks, representing approximately 20% of the national GDP (according to the National Department of Statistics – DANE [in Spanish]), we can demonstrate the significant role of women in the family and productive structure in Colombia, not only as generators of well-being at home but also for the country's productive development." Click here to read the complete Women's Day tribute article.
Israeli breeder Danziger again celebrates and empowers women florists. In a press release, they say that they are happy with the results from last year's International Women's Day campaign and delighted by the wealth of positive feedback and compliments coming from floristry industry colleagues. So, the company invited Alison Bradley to reach out to four very different and successful women in the floristry world. "Each woman has their own story to tell and their own perspective on the position of women in floristry. Their views are very different, and there are some common bonds, but each woman reveals just how determined and strong they are to have achieved success. "Click here to read the complete article.
In the UK, the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is marking International Women's Day with the launch of its drive to improve equality and inclusion in the UK's horticulture sector. The trade body that represents businesses across the country is to make diversity a key push in 2023. The drive will cover communications, external engagement, and member support and will include what the HTA itself is doing on equality and existing leadership in the sector. This will be expanded into more specific member advice and wider discussion, followed by data gathering to benchmark horticulture and track future progress. Click here to read the complete article.
And DryGair, one of the leading horticulture dehumidifier manufacturers, put their female CEO in the spotlight; namely Rona Orlicky, formerly a successful business attorney, pivoted after two decades to agri-tech with the mission of making the world greener. Orlicky co-founded DryGair in 2010. Click here to read the complete article.