It is amazing what the floral industry can do when we work together. There is no clearer example than International Women’s Day, which was celebrated on Sunday, March 8. This year, Women’s Day matured into a substantial holiday, as American consumers gravitated to the idea of celebrating women with flowers.

“We felt more awareness around the holiday than in years past,” said Rebecca Eckblad, vice president of floral at Roundy’s Supermarkets in Milwaukee. “Women’s Day made headlines and was talked about on the radio. Customers who have not heard of the holiday in the past are becoming aware. The industry support and momentum behind this holiday is exciting.”  

Chad Solari, director of produce and floral at the San Francisco area-based Andronico’s Community Markets, said, “Our florists, who had this last Sunday off, came in Monday morning to a torn-up department. The reason? Women’s Day.”

Part of the reason for this year’s success was definitely the increased awareness of International Women’s Day. This was due to a group of six organizations, including farmers from Colombia and California, as well as representatives from the Association of Floral Importers of Florida, California Cut Flower Commission, Society of American Florists, Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association, Asocolflores and CalFlowers, all working together to create two posters and then distributing 25,000 copies across the United States.

“This year we increased consumer awareness for Women’s Day on a dramatic level. I’m really proud that we were able to work together towards a common goal, and the results clearly show that consumers are warming to Women’s Day,” said Michael LoBue, chief executive officer at the California Association of Flower Growers & Shippers.

Mass-market retailers participating in the poster program included:

• Von’s/Safeway (Western United States)

• HEB

• Roundy’s

•  Andronico’s

• Bristol Farms

•  Raley’s

• Longo’s

Becky Roberts, director of volunteer relations and floral for the Produce Marketing Association said, “We believe PMA, the PMA Foundation and the floral industry have a commitment to women all year round.  

“We are happy to see the industry come together on this special day to celebrate the women who make the industry flourish, and women across the world who deserve a token of appreciation.”

Wholesale florists and retailers also helped push Women’s Day to new heights as posters were distributed to retail florists through:

• Cleveland Plant & Flower

• Mayesh Wholesale Florists

• Greenleaf

• Kennicott Bros./Van’s/Nordlie

• Delaware Valley Wholesale Florists

• Baisch & Skinner

• Mount Eden Flora

• Arizona Floral Exchange

• Down’s Wholesale

• Roy Houff

Many wholesalers engaged on social media to promote the holiday, such as Frank Adams in Portland and Ensign Wholesale in Salt Lake City. Kennicott Bros./Van’s/Nordlie not only posted many Facebook posts, but took the occasion to honor their female employees and celebrate the work they do every day.

Joe Barnes, new business development manager at Kennicott, said, “Our collective team really embraced Women’s Day this year, and the response from our customers and our employees has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Lastly, another indication of the growing impact of Women’s Day is that both FTD and Teleflora ran Women’s Day campaigns.

Tom Moeller, executive vice president at FTD, said, “We feel the momentum behind Women’s Day is growing, and our team is focused on bringing awareness to both florists and consumers to further drive this emerging occasion.”

Women’s Day is just starting to reach its potential as a major sales event in the month of March. The more consumers have flowers in their homes and offices, the more they include flowers in their day-to-day lives.

This holiday, based on celebrating, honoring and respecting women is a wonderful opportunity to keep the vase full and keep flowers as the centerpiece of every table.

Bill Prescott is the marketing and communications associate at Sun Valley Floral Farms in Arcata, CA. He can be contacted at [email protected].