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- Floral Marketing/The Produce News /Trans-Action Column August 2009 -

by Terry Johnson

We have been hearing a lot lately about projects designed to improve logistics in the floral industry such as GTIN label standardization, flower box standards, and distribution improvements in the California flower grower community.

While all of these programs have obvious value to some in the chain of  distribution of flowers, none of these projects address what benefits there would be to potential flower consumers from adopting these initiatives.

It’s as though consumers aren’t even considered when supporters initiate programs like these, even though consumers are the most important segment in the floral business! Benefits seem to be confined to unspecified reductions in costs gained through “greater logistics efficiencies.” Nothing wrong with reducing costs, but even if there were cost reductions (no guarantees of this) it’s doubtful consumers would receive any benefit from those reductions.

This lack of the consumer’s perspective hasn’t always the case when flower handling improvements have been focused on in the past. After all, the the ultimate goal of the original “Chain of Life” program first developed in the mid 70’s was to help build consumer demand for flowers by insuring each link in the distribution chain was using proper flower handling protocols resulting in a better product that consumers would enjoy and buy again and again.

We need to reset our priorities for flower distribution improvements to reflect consumer needs for fresher flowers that last longer in their homes. The lack of proper flower handling which has led to flat or declining demand for flowers is the most serious problem facing the floral industry and it must be addressed immediately allowing us to compete against other industries that are currently delivering greater value to consumers.

Among these value added priorities are:

• Ethylene and botrytis controls.
• Proper flower container hygiene
• A completed cool chain
• Flower temperature monitoring and management

None of these flower handling protocols is currently being done sufficiently, all directly affect flower quality and consumers’ perceptions of the value of flowers and should be our top priorities in flower distribution improvements.

Terry Johnson, Horticultural Marketing Resources, is a consultant, trainter and featured speaker focusing on helping consumer demand for fresh flowers. He can be reached at hortmarketing@aol.com