Every year on Valentine’s Day the topic of flowers is picked up by the media and we see a surge in all types of articles related to Valentine’s Day and the flower industry. This year again, Union Fleurs has compiled the most relevant ones in a Valentine’s Day special edition of its Media Review to offer Union Fleurs members a worldwide overview of what has been said about flowers on this special holiday.
As in previous years, media outlets clearly emphasised on sustainability, usually in a positive way, with many articles guiding consumers to make conscious choices when buying flowers and balancing the arguments for imported vs locally grown.
Inevitably, a few publications point at the main issues faced by the global production and trade of flowers, such as the use of agrochemicals and the working conditions in producing countries, however they all refer to outdated stories and arguments that have already been extensively discussed and addressed.
Although the sale of flowers didn’t break any records this year, “the overall picture is moderate to good”: with Valentine’s day falling a Thursday, Royal FloraHolland recorded an increase of more than 4 percent sales of roses compared to 2018. The predominant topic among growing countries both in East Africa and Latin America has been transport this year, with high freight costs and limited capacity. Imports to the US were not affected by the government shutdown, and fears from difficult weather conditions, both for production and delivery, proved to be untrue.
Besides market trends, the selection of articles gives a comprehensive tour of the main topics recorded this year, such as promotion campaigns and market competition, freight transport and logistics, custom inspections, the rise of flower delivery options and quality, and new buying trends, such as preserved flowers, new colours & scents, and the “slow flowers” movement.
Union Fleurs members have received this special Media Review in their mailboxes and can access it anytime in the Resource section of the union Fleurs website.
