International Floriculture Expo 2021 Miami Beach Florida.
I Have now attended my second floral event since Covid decided to interrupt our lives. This Expo was the one postponed from last year and, as always, was geared toward the mass market. This was a much scaled down event from years past for obvious reasons. The biggest of which is that the coveted buyers from the big supermarket chains were not in attendance.
These large corporations cannot allow their employees to travel under these circumstances, and so the result is that the, ever present, big names in the bouquet business were not there either. No Sunshine, no Queens, no Passion, no Elite. (Sounds like a good line for a country song).
With that said, there were plenty of beautiful flowers and booths with people in them and that was enough to get me excited.
Lots of preserved roses being shown, which has been an ongoing trend and more painted flowers in every imaginal way.
Flowersandcents.com sponsors, Jet Fresh Flowers, Farm Fresh Flower, Ball, Deruiters, Groflowers, Armellini, Continental Flowers, and Valley Springs all had displays and it was great to see everyone.
There was no mistaking the awkwardness of wearing masks, but I guess we all have gotten accustomed to recognizing people we know by their eyes and voices.
There was not a lot of aisle traffic and yet I was surprised to see that many people there at all given these uncertain times we are in. Interestingly enough, when news broke that the PMA event, scheduled for October, was cancelled, the whole place was buzzing. Suddenly this was the only Mass Market show and the place to be.
The annual Flower Naming Ceremony was certainly a surprise as my late mother Sarah Armellini was the recipient! The Chrysanthemum “Sarah’s Brush” was revealed. It is a beautiful Ball variety and my mother, who liked to paint, would have been honored.
Last years recipient of the flower naming was Ghean Maksimow of “Bow Genie” Since there was no event last year to celebrate her flower, it was held this year. Congratulations to her.
The Iron Designer Competition was a blast and host, Pieter Landman had the crowd going as they shouted for their favorite designer. In the end the winner was Steven Santos representing Natural Flowers. All the contestants used Sarah’s Brush in their designs! Congratulations to Steven.
The global flower market remains tight, and I do not see or hear that changing anytime soon as supply tries to meet demand. Unfavorable weather in South America is not helping production.
In conclusion there were some buyers there and business was conducted. I am glad I attended and applaud Divcom/ IFE for sticking this one out and having a safe show.
All of this will make more sense when you view the very short video of my experience at the IFE 2021.
Click here to view on my youtube channel.
Next week Flowerandcents.com Is off to SAF here in Orlando Fla. Stay tuned for my coverage.
Thank you,
Williee Armellini
Editor/Owner: Flowersandcents.com
Williee@flowersandcents.com
Leave a Comment