Page 123 - December2018

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FRESH PRODUCE & FLORAL EXPO
Held at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA, this produce and oral exhibition was hosted by the Fresh Produce & Floral Council, based in Anaheim. Floral Business has bonus distribution throughout
the year at shows similar to this one-day event.
Store-checking north of Half Moon Bay revealed abundant orchid displays at two Grocery Outlet stores. Also, a variety of grow kits were displayed up front
to capture customers in-tune with nature. TIP: When traveling anywhere near San Francisco, always make time to visit food markets, greenhouses and ower farms. Buying local in this area is an enviable position.
HAVANA, OOH NA-NA
Sometimes the ocean calls and a quick cruise happens. And sometimes reality calls and shakes you by the shoulders as a reminder to appreciate what you have. July 11 was spent in Havana, Cuba, appreciating the architecture, seeking art, and enjoying meals
cooked with love while surrounded by friends. ere was a brief store check and time later to nostalgically enjoy the sights and sounds at the famed Tropicana.
PMA FRESH SUMMIT CONVENTION AND EXPO, ORLANDO
e designated Floral Marketplace section featured a grand lobby entrance, complete with an impressive balloon arch, imaginative oral design installations and creative oral photo backdrops. Inside, exhibitors creatively demonstrated their best booth designs. During the Floral Flamingle reception, Carlos Oramas, chief executive
and co-founder of Gems Group, Miami, magnan- imously accepted the 2018 Floral Marketer of the Year Award, which honors lifetime e orts to advance and improve the mass-market oral industry.
APRIL
OCTOBER
CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE
e Philadelphia area provided great opportunities for store checks and showed me that in this region
Sunday shoppers are
out in full force. Visiting
McCaffrey’s Food
Market in Blue Bell was
a jaw-dropping expe-
rience in both Floral
and Produce. Talking
about a destination –
this store abundantly
displays owers, plants,
plush and gifts like no
other store I have seen. For more photos and details, see the winter issue of Floral Business.
MAY
AUGUST
JUNE
SEPTEMBER
CELEBRATE EVERYTHING
e fall issue marked the seventh anniversary of Floral Business in the digest-size format. Mailed circulation is 24,000. Buyers from Floral and Produce also read the magazine online at FloralBusiness.com.
JULY
OCTOBER
WEDDING BELLS FOR ELLEN
Ellen Kote , vice president of editorial, married Francisco Uribe on Nov. 10 in front of family and friends, who had the best time celebrating the happy couple. e memo-
rable reception was enhanced by beau- tiful garden roses from Alexandra Farms – grown in Colombia – the birthplace of the lucky groom.
NOVEMBER
NEW YORK PRODUCE SHOW, NYC
Presented by Eastern Produce Council and Produce Business, the ninth-annual New York Produce Show and Conference will be held Dec. 10-13. ough mostly lled with produce for retailers and food- service, the one-day trade show does feature a few oral companies and welcomes oral and foliage companies as exhibitors.
Here’s wishing readers good health, joy, prosperity and peace in the New Year.
DECEMBER
e 33rd anniversary issue of Produce Business published in October included the Floral Business Masters of Innovation supplement. Written for buy- ers and oral teams, retailers are provided a digital le or printed copies of the supplement featuring bene cial sponsored content.
PRODUCE BUSINESS / DECEMBER 2018 / 123
IT’S ALL ABOUT LOGISTICS
While shipping is not typically described as glamourous, a cold warehouse lled with thousands of boxes of owers before Moth- er’s Day could be termed a fast and furious, nearly miraculous scene. Security was high, since west-side warehouse doors opened onto the tarmac when we toured the C.H. Robinson facility at Miami International Airport.Wevisitandphotographnurseries
and ower farms, so photographing and learning about the consolidation and logistics side of the cold chain is just as important.
INTERNATIONAL FLORICULTURE EXPO IN CHICAGO
Floral Buiness participated as an exhibitor for the third year in Chicago at the International Floriculture Expo.