Keeping up-to-date with a market as vibrant and dynamic as the floral industry is no easy task. It seems that we need to know more information and consider more variables each year just to stay competitive in an industry that has shown little growth in the United States over the past decade. Yet we welcome this challenge and work together to identify growth opportunities. Over the course of 2018, PMA continued to collaborate with industry organizations to bring you the information you need, from supermarket benchmarks to design and consumer trends, and from global trade information to supply chain initiatives.
PMA supported the 2019 trend research of the International Floral Distributors (IFD) because we know that design constantly evolves. Interior design, food trends, social movements and economic trends all impact the world of changing flower trends, flower types, floral varieties, flower colors and floral design styles and arrangements. IFD brings this to life each year. Check out this compilation of information to ensure you are capitalizing on bold red accents in sleek modern designs – just to name one trend – in 2019. PMA also brings you the latest color palettes from the Pantone Color Institute.
In 2018 we saw many muted colors come to the forefront, which is often true during turbulent times. In 2019, PMA’s design trend information will allow you to best target you customer base with the color and designs that resonate with them.
In 2019 PMA looks forward to supporting the American Floral Endowment and its Floral Marketing Research Fund on its Eye Tracking Study. This study will focus on consumer preferences as it relates to floral design elements including line, color, axis and symmetry, form and species by tracking physiological data such as heart rate, perspiration and eye movements. We look forward to sharing information from this two-year study being performed by The Human Behavior Laboratory at Texas A&M University.
While PMA did not participate in retail/supermarket research in 2018, we did commission floral consumer research to identify drivers and barriers for floral purchases as well as the competitive categories vying for the same consumer dollars. The full research will be shared with PMA members the first quarter of 2019 but here are a few implications:
- Floral has an emotional advantage versus competitive items, especially in the expression of love/affection/friendship, expression of thanks and sympathy. We need to focus on the emotional connection between purchaser and recipient in the gift category.
- House plants have a strong demand space for everyday home decorations, holiday home decorations and “just because.” We need to show that house plants are the perfect home accessory and reinforce their durability and ease of care.
PMA keeps an eye on the horizon to better understand markets and production competition for floral products. In 2018 PMA commissioned research to better understand China’s cut flower market. Our market reports allow members to better understand a consumer market, identify competitive challenges, find possible partners, and ultimately reap the benefits from possible opportunities. We look forward to exploring Kenya in 2019.
But what we are most proud of achieving in 2018 is bringing together the floral industry to achieve efficiencies that cannot be done by single organizations. The Floral Coding Initiative standardized codes for data entry to help retailers extract data through Nielsen Perishables Group and IRI. The industry was able to review sales performance data within key floral sub-categories for the first time in 2018.
We also kicked off a Transportation Task Force in 2018 that will work through 2019 on initiatives such as the exploration of box standards, investigating the use of different ports for floral, and developing a business case for the consolidation of floral shipments in order to reduce transportation costs for the industry.
As we look to 2019, we look forward to continuing to be here to provide you with the information and connections you need to continue to grow your business.
