Wow! What a difference a year can make. Last year this show seemed domed as covid prevented nearly all big store buyers from attending. That in turn led to many of the big bouquet suppliers deciding not to exhibit.
Therefore, the expectation for this year was not very high yet hopeful, but the buyers did come, and the show was a success. The many vendors that I spoke with were pleasantly surprised at the good, high value traffic.
Many people are not aware that this show Floriexpo, formerly called the International Floriculture Expo, is owned by Divcom. Divcom is exhibition company that puts on hundreds of shows each year for various industries.
This explains why this show survived Covid and also why there were some different types of vendors exhibiting. There were three makeup booths luring in tired looking attendees hoping to make them more beautiful and buy some product. Greeting cards, stuffed animals and more.
Bouquet makers were well represented by Elite, Native, Galleria Continental Flowers and others. Jet Fresh Flowers as always was providing entertainment.
Several Breeders were there showing off new varieties and colors. Ball, DeRuiters, United Selections and Plantec.
There was even an African grower exhibiting, as he seeks new buyers to replace his former Russian clients. I am sure this Russian issue prompted some other growers to attend as well.
The talk on the street is that everyone is doing just fine and hoping that the bubble does not burst. The major issue is Logistics. There are not enough pilots, truck drivers, laborers to meet the demand.
For so many years flowers flying out of South America was reliable and affordable and allowed the import business to grow. The last three years have been anything but affordable and reliable causing all sort of problems.
Here is a good example. An airline with a cargo 747 can get up to one million (USD) for a flight from Asia to the US vs 250k for a flight from Bogota to Miami. The result is that everything is more expensive, and margins are thinning. There is a limit to how much companies can absorb and how much can be passed on to consumers until they say no.
Wednesday (the only day I attended) ended with the annual Iron designer contest hosted by the always entertaining, Peter Landman. Eight designers battled it out for 30 minutes and in the end. Jennifer Butcher was the winner.
Please check out my video review so you can see the people and the products.
Thank you for your time
Williee Armellini
Editor/Owner: Flowersandcents.com
williee@localhost
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