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floral business
The Pin Cushion flat arrangement, direct from the grower in Colombia, was offered by Splendor of Hollywood, FL.
Isabel from Zedgee Ltd, of Nairobi, Kenya, shows the popular Asclepias Moby Dick.
Grown in the Rionegro Valley in Medellin, Co- lombia, these magnificent Hydrangea and Calla Lilies were displayed by Valley Springs of Miami.
82 / APRIL 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
World Floral Expo – A Global Delight
IBY E. SHAUNN ALDERMAN
nternational flair was in the air at World Floral Expo held in Texas at the Dallas Market Hall, March 20- 22. Exhibitors totalling just under 40 organizations hailed from many
parts of the world including Ecuador, Co- lombia, Holland, Thailand, Canada and the United States. There was also a presence of farms from Kenya, Ethiopia and Zimba- bwe.
Popular with novices and long-time experts alike, a themed, hands-on design session was presented each day. Participants proudly took home their floral creations. Flower expert J Schwanke, chief executive of uBloom.com, gave two presentations. Wednesday’s session was on Flower Trends for 2019, and Thursday’s presentation was about the creation of his new series for PBS and CREATE television called Life In Bloom.
This was the first time World Floral Expo was held in Texas. “We are pleased with the show this year, and exhibitors seemed very happy,” says Dick van Raams- donk, chief executive of HPP International Exhibitions Group, the WFE producer based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
FLAMBOYANT FOLLY
Jet Fresh Flower Distributors Inc., of Miami is a family-owned and operated importer, distributor and grower of fresh-cut wholesale flowers. Celebrating 11 years of business, this festive group created a quad-
view exhibit featuring color-blocked rooms where the walls and all objects within were painted one color. This clever and thought- filled approach spotlighted the fresh flowers strategically placed in each room – fulfilling
the exhibit’s theme of, “ Living In Color.” The magenta bedroom featured a bed of roses in varying shades of pink. The kitchen displayed a massive arrangement of yellow flowers bursting from the matching painted oven. The blue bathroom, complete with a blue toilet resplendent with color-coordi- nated flowers was popular with cellphone photographers. And the bright green home office, complete with trophies on the wall and a computer on the desk, presented an abundant floral display including hang- ing emerald Amaranthus, Bells of Ireland, Green Trick Dianthus and Cymbidium orchids.
“Our theme this year originally stemmed from the quote by painter David Hockney who said, ‘I prefer living in color.’ This really resonated with us. By using the flowers as a medium, like paint to a canvas, we were able to focus on the theme and design first, and bring in the floral elements after,” explains Ryan Black, marketing/media director of Jet Fresh. He says the feedback from the show was 100 percent positive. “Attendees from Baby Boomers to Gen Z’ers all loved the installation equally. It was fun how every person had their own opinion on their favorite room and color.”
Positioned up front, everyone who entered the show saw the Jet Fresh booth, and most people could not resist snapping several photos. Posting and posing for pictures happened all three days. This was an attention-grabbing effort cleverly pulled off by a floral team known to think big. For retailers, this extreme approach might be too intense – no blue toilets in the floral depart- ment – but the merchandising effort for this show paid off in numerous ways including the inspiration of many Instagram posts. Jet Fresh set out to have fun and inspire floral purchases. “Our mission was to inspire, spark some creativity, to stand out and invite people in,” explains Black. Mission accom- plished.
CALIFORNIA PAVILION
Despite so much attention on inter- national displays, show attendees did not