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MANTUA TWP. When Delaware Valley Floral Group founder Robert S. Wilkins and his wife Doris started their wholesale business in 1959, he had to remortgage his house to set up operations.

“At the time, he was working at a wholesale house in Philadelphia and he wanted to distribute in South Jersey, but the company wasn’t interested,” said Timothy Dewey, vice president of procurement. “He set up the whole business and we’ve been in four different locations right around this area since.”

The company is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary today. In the past five decades, Dewey said, the company has gone from one truck to 90, its network of retail florists has extended from Boston to Northern Virginia and it boasts hundreds of times more offerings especially of their best-seller, roses.

“There have been a lot of changes over the last 50 years, especially in the channels available to buy fresh flowers, from the Internet to the supermarkets, but our strength has always been in retail flowers,” said John Wilkins, vice president of operations and distribution and grandson of the late founder. “Our strength has always been in our retail flower base. They are our background.”

Wilkins said that while the producers base was very domestic 50 years ago, the business has expanded to include producers with much better climates for growing year-round.

“Seventy percent now comes from South America alone,” said Wilkins.

And Dewey said that, despite the increased ease and variety available in floral orders, the industry is still slow in this country.

“Florals are a lot lower at a consumer level here in the United States than in many parts of Europe,” said Dewey. “We’re striving to show the benefits of fresh flowers, not just for holidays and special occasions, but also on a regular weekly basis like in Europe.”

Both Dewey and Wilkins said the crucial element of the floral business was to provide the best and freshest product.

“About 25 percent of our sales are roses and we try to carry every variety with products sourced from around the world,” said Dewey.

“We stock close to 1,000 different varieties of fresh flowers every day,” added Wilkins.

Wilkins said the company values its role as a staple in the local community.

“We employ 450 people and more than 300 of them work in Sewell alone,” said Wilkins. “And its the continued contributions of those employees that have made us successful. We even have some people working here who have been with us from the very beginning, or close to it. We also take a lot of pride in the fact that it’s a family business and strive to keep that legacy going.”

Both Dewey and Wilkins said that though business technology has greatly changed, making the floral business an almost 24/7 operation, the key to success continued to lie in the quality of the product and the local reputation.

“That’s what keeps our employees passionate,” said Dewey. “Our location allows us access to major metropolitan markets like Philadelphia, New York, Washington D.C. and even Boston and our goal remains to help retailers become successful in their businesses.”

For more information, visit dvfloralgroup.com.

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Tags: e-floralink, Fresh Cut Flowers. Flower Industry, Floral Industry, Floral Logistics, Flower Logistics, Flower Growers, Flower Exports, Flower Imports, Flower Market, Flower Wholesale, Floricultores, Traceability, Trazabilidad

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