Are flowers still allowed? Or, rather, how do consumers view sustainability? Bloemenbureau Holland, in collaboration with research firm Kantar, asked 5,000 flower and plant buyers in the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. They used the responses to try to get a picture of prevailing sentiment. The results were shared with interested sector parties at the World Horti Center in the Netherlands.
This question examines the flower sector as such and sometimes even horticulture as a whole's right to exist. Interestingly, it was not an issue until recently but is now occasionally heard in the public domain. The attendees agree that it is quite absurd, but given that it exists, the question now is how to respond to it.
To summarize the discussion, one might say that, on the one hand, that question must not be ignored, but, on the other, one should share 'positive news.' In other words, communicate the challenges and what is happening in the sector but also presents the product in all its facets. Then, if another scandal surfaces, consumers have the facts to realize the big picture.
Focus is the new IQ
Lieke van der Loo presented the report, a continuation of the same research from last year. You can see it here. For education and entertainment, Elke Geraerts then talked about dealing with distraction. In an attention economy, "focus is the new IQ; connection the new EQ," Elke knows, a thought she elaborated on in an imaginative, humorous way.