Slow Flowers Member Survey 2021, Part Six
What’s on your mind moving into 2021?
In the Slow Flowers Survey for 2021, conducted during the month of October, we asked members to identify emerging shifts and themes they anticipate experiencing their floral enterprise in the coming year.
This report addresses a single, open-ended question, answered by 133 of survey respondents. We will divide them by category:
“More customers looking for locally-grown products.”
“Hyper-local emphasis in our community.”
“More compassion.”
“Renewed interest in ‘bringing nature inside’ as the pandemic churns on.”
“Growth! Also, mail order competitors are going to start either charging more or pivoting out of flowers or going out of business.”
“I am partnering up with a floral designer who values local flowers and foliage and who does not want to use foam. I have added a design studio in my home so I can make more arrangements to deliver to customers.”
“More succession planting.”
“More online orders. More direct-to-consumer.”
“Innovation in regenerative farming and embracing sustainably-dried products. Triple-bottom-line accounting.”
“Demand continues to grow, while climate change challenges are also increasing.”
“Continued on-farm CSA pickup.”
“Higher demand for local product. More demand for product for smaller events. Increased in DIY-type flowers.”
“I would love to shift back to farm visits, dinner events, workshops and continued bouquet subscriptions. It’s all about relationships for me. I would rather teach, serve or host than design weddings and mass-market bouquets.”
“To simplify farm operations, including how my customers purchase from me.”
“Relying less on retail sales outlets and more on direct sales.”
“At-home flower delivery subscriptions.”
“We’re ramping up spring and fall production, focusing less on summer-tender annuals.”
“Growing more flowers and seeing a shift to true local, not-shipped flowers that claim to be ‘local.'”
“I’m shifting to daily deliveries and more of a traditional florist shop model, with the aim of exploring whether or not I’d like to move to a retail storefront in June 2021. I’m limiting my weddings and events to one per weekend. I’m also selling a lot of houseplants.”
“Mainly online ordering and just a few pop-up weeks per year when clients/customers are allowed in the studio to shop.”
“The need to be flexible, customer-focused and empathetic. Growing some of my own flowers has really been helpful this year so we’ll expand that next year, as well.”
“Color and installation work are on the rise for 2021.”
“My wedding business model is changing completely. No more ordering flowers of any kind. I will have packages of local flowers and there will be two color choices – pastels and bright colors. This habit of buying flowers and vegetables out of season has got to stop. We have to educate people on their carbon footprint. I think we have become a terrifically spoiled population. I want to cater to those people who have more sympathy for the earth and for taking care of it.”
“More relaxed, not so elaborate weddings.”
“A shift towards creating more meaningful experiences, especially during a hard economic crisis and Covid, providing a sense of hope and positivity through flowers.”
“More elopements.”
“Continued micro-weddings.”
Read past Slow Flowers Member Survey Recaps by Topic:
Week One: Slow Flowers Member Demographics
Week Two: Growing and Sourcing Flowers
Week Three: Hardgoods and Mechanics
Week Four: Causes Climate and Challenges
Week Five: Favorite Flowers, Color Palette Preferences and Design Aesthetics
Coming Up . . .
The series continues into January, as we share more Survey Insights, analyzing feedback from Slow Flowers Members on the following topics:
January 8th: Predictions about Customer Buying Patterns
January 15th: Q&A with Debra Prinzing addressing member questions and comments
