Details Flowers was honored to welcome Joost Bongaerts for the June Details University Live session, where he shared valuable insights from his journey in the floral industry. From his leadership at Florabundance to his recent involvement in the Netflix series With Love, Meghan and his advocacy work with That Flower Feeling, Bongaerts offered a wealth of inspiration that resonated deeply with the audience. For those who missed the live session, here’s a full recap.

Bongaerts’ passion for flowers began in his native Netherlands—the tulip capital of the world. His career started in The Hague and has since spanned decades and continents. After immigrating to the United States as a horticultural student, Bongaerts steadily built a career that took him from selling tulips and bulbs in the Northeast to eventually becoming the owner of Florabundance, a respected floral wholesaler based in Santa Barbara, CA.

Today, Florabundance is celebrated for its boutique-style wholesale offerings and nationwide reach. The company is known for its close partnerships with American growers, sourcing over 70 percent of its product domestically from March through October. With a strong and predominantly female-led team, Florabundance continues to champion quality, sustainability and American-grown flowers. (Interested buyers can use code FIRSTORDER10 for online orders.)

With Love, Meghan: A Spotlight on Florabundance

Florabundance was recently featured in the Netflix series With Love, Meghan, created by Meghan Markle as a love letter to California and its local businesses. In episode five, the show highlighted Florabundance and the beauty of locally sourced flowers. Bongaerts praised the message of the episode, emphasizing the importance of expression over perfection—a sentiment that resonated with many in the floral community.

Promoting Flowers Nationwide: That Flower Feeling

During the session, Joost also highlighted his longstanding role as a board member of CalFlowers and his involvement in launching That Flower Feeling, a national campaign focused on increasing floral consumption through relatable, lifestyle-oriented messaging.

One of the campaign’s standout moments was a 30-second viral ad filmed in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using humor and themes of self-care, the campaign showcased the emotional power of flowers in everyday life. From whimsical ads to wrapped delivery vans and even a public thank-you billboard to Miley Cyrus for her song Flowers, the initiative has captured wide attention.

Bongaerts emphasized that the campaign’s success relies on broad industry support. Participants can sign up for free at thatflowerfeeling.org, access marketing materials and contribute financially to sustain the movement. As Bongaerts noted, everyone from wholesalers to florists to flower lovers can play a part in keeping flowers top of mind.

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