Trends are always fluid in that they have no start or end date and the consumer dictates what will be a success. Style trends are defined as a general direction for a period of three to five years, after which a style is considered a classic. Style trends are highly volatile, with many variables, such as socio-economic and cultural design risk.

Creative trend elements can include color, texture, form, line and less obvious ones like proportion and scale. When executed correctly, the right trend can move ordinary commodity products through the supply chain as high-end, with greater margin and faster returns.

New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and other style headquarters are still considered leaders in market forecasting and what Americans will be purchasing to be in the now, but all regional markets know the benefits and pitfalls of only buying on trend. Following are some observations of new or continued trend directions in the U.S. floral marketplace, meant to increase sales.  

•We see an increased use of cut greens and botanicals in bouquets, vase arrangements and design work. When the cost per stem of foliage is less than the cost per stem of flowers, they will make for a valuable foundation while providing less shrink, since cut foliage can last up to one month. This applies to both seasonal and holiday-specific merchandise.

•Flowers and greens will be marketed with shorter stems throughout the chain, enabling lower freight cost. In the U.S., many living areas and workspaces are becoming smaller and this requires the decor (flowers) to adapt to their functionality in smaller spaces. Therefore, smaller and shorter vases tend to continue to regulate the measurement of the stems. A constant measurement standard for commodity flowers is 40-50 centimeters, with the exception of line flowers. The short-stemmed, “roundy-moundy” centerpiece-like style will continue in popularity due to its multi-functionality.

•Year-round production of mass and filler flowers still dominates the spectrum of flower offerings. The new look of retail-ready bouquets will feature more line flowers and unusual foliages to create a more open bouquet with various levels of flowers, botanicals and foliage. Mass flowers are considered positive, while filler and line flowers will create negative space in a bouquet, providing for a custom look. However, consumer trends in durable goods do not automatically transfer into decorative (floral) trends development. Creative elements that work for the product development team in the car industry do not automatically apply to the product development of fresh flower bouquets.

•The use of packaging continues to be strongly divided between functional application at the producer and shipper level for protection and durability of the flowers and at the retail level where improved decorative packaging creates higher perceived value, including retail-branded packaging. In contrast to high-end retail packaging we also see a growing eco-friendly movement. Many supermarkets with globally aware, “green” customers have packaging policies with scaled down, inexpensive, recyclable materials.

In the floral industry we need to continue focusing on creativity as a value-added concept, not a liability.

Rene van Rems operates a consulting, marketing and publishing firm in Carlsbad, CA. He can be reached at 888/824-7363 or at [email protected].