In 2017, Sunny Meadows Flower Farm launched a direct-shipping program for florists as a way to build the domestic flower market and increase access to more farm-direct blooms. We started small with florists within the state of Ohio but beyond our normal delivery area as a test run for our first year, and shipped to a couple wholesalers so we could learn the ropes.
Now the program has expanded to anywhere in the U.S., shipping our flowers via FedEx, Southwest Cargo, and Alaska Airlines. Florist sales have become our focus as we dropped selling to wholesalers and at farmers’ markets; and we are officially out of the wedding business after we fulfill our commitments in 2022. Each decision to drop a subsequent sales outlet allows us to put more focus on our farm-to-florist direct program. We have also started bringing in flowers from other grower friends to supplement our offerings, creating more of a one-stop shop and potentially becoming the wholesaler ourselves, while still limiting our offerings to things that we would grow or use in our designs.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Slow Flowers Journal
