In this Flower Circus Talks we have Tom Vermeer, managing director of Xpol as our Guest.  

For all parties in the flower industry, it are challenging times. How does Xpol handle this?  

What started as a unique approach on how they synchronize the market, instead of buying and selling, turned out to be a great formula, that also helps them in times where all costs rise, especially airfreight.  

By synchronizing between grower and customer the chain is made much shorter. Packed at source is a great example: by packing the flowers/bouquets at source it saves a lot of time (vase life!) it also reduces the amount of handling and waste.   

Together with other partners they also worked on a new packaging to make optimal use of the airfreight space (which is a scarce thing right now). Pallets are loaded to the maximum, not losing valuable space. Next to that it also contributes to the sustainability goals Xpol set for themselves. The amount of paper/cardboard is significantly reduced since the use of this standardized box.  

This and much more in this very interesting Flower Circus Talks

For this special episode: #100 we have the CMO Marcel Zandvliet from the Dutch Flower Group.  With Marcel, we talk about marketing in the floral industry. Why is marketing so important? Flower prices are already high, why should we promote.  

Dutch Flower Group does a lot of research in consumer behavior, and they see a real change in behavior in how consumers look at flowers and plants. A trend that can work out really well for our industry. To benefit it's important to promote to the right audience.  

There is also an important role for the Flower Council of Holland in the general promotion. With the generic promotion, flowers can be on top of mind with consumers. It would be great to achieve that consumers have/make a budget to buy flowers and plants on a regular basis.   

At In the end, there is a special surprise for John for the 100th episode, a true milestone, and up to the next 100!

'A whole new generation of florists is created due to Covid'

With Sahid we Talk about how the industry is changing, and how florists are reacting to it.  

Sahid has been at the SAF and saw that a lot of florists attended the seminars about online sales/marketing etc. The rooms were filled with florists. Most of them see it as a new/extra way of sales.   

After the crisis of 2008 a new group of florists emerged, and the same is happening again. For the industry, it's a good thing we get new people in with new and fresh ideas.   

We also talked about how the industry should work more together to get better results. Collaboration is the key to success!

After a period of 16 months without any flower exhibitions in Holland, The FlowerBazar is happening. Rudi Tuinman and Pascal Koeleman from 2dezign tell us about their first event in Holland, and we have a quick look around as well!

There is a huge shortage of roses at the moment. What is going on? We talk with Michael Black from Jet Fresh Flowers and Jet Fresh Growers, and Alejandro Henao from Naranjo Roses to find out.  

There isn't just one reason why the market is so stressed at the moment, it's a combination of different factors. Lots of farms have been bought by the big supermarkets (suppliers). These roses normally were sold in the traditional markets. 

This makes that the supply is significantly less. Add with this that it's a low production period for a lot of growers, record low temperatures in Ecuador. And on top of that maintenance work on the runway of the main airport, so less flight capacity.  

Luckily the last one should be taken care of this weekend. The weather will not stay cold for long (hopefully) and growers (which pinch their crops to make peaks), will have higher production coming up for the All Saints.  

The first point makes that the market is way more sensitive to higher demand. Both Michael and Alejandro recommend planning well ahead of when you have an event. Placing standing orders will help a lot as well to get the flowers you want.  

There are growers who want to expand to fulfill the demand. However, the costs and delivery time of materials to build greenhouses are crazy. This is why both men think this market will at least for another year.

Deliflor Chrysanten is the largest chrysanthemum breeder worldwide. The Deliflor assortment consists of more than 300 different cultivars which are grown all over the world. So there is no better person to talk about Chrysanthemums than Peter Zaat. How does he see the market moving, what developments are there in terms of breeding and growing, and much more!

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"The future for the floral industry in Australia looks bright"

In this episode of Flower Circus Talks, we have Bas Kamp as our guest. After traveling all over the world as a florist Bas ended up starting a wholesale business in Brisbane Australia. Running the business already over 25 years now, Bas is the man to ask about the Australian flower business, and how it differs from other markets.

Although the industry in Australia faces some challenges; from lack of flights to get imports into the country, to expanding cities, so growers have to move or stop. Bas sees that the future for the floral industry looks bright. Young people starting as florists, and as prices are good for locally produced flowers, hopefully, people start to grow (more) flowers.

This, and much more, in this episode of Flower Circus Talks.

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Nicu is driven by his passion for floral design, he completed his story by perfecting his art with the most prestigious florists in the world.   

During the 50th anniversary of his family being in the floral business, they came up with a project of showing 50 days in a row a special design in Bucharest: it started with an arrangement in a whole in the road, and quickly more places in the city were decorated. The dress they made with Covallaria even made it into the Guinness book of records!  

His efforts are attested by achieving first place at numerous floristic competitions. He will also compete in the Europa cup for floristry in 2022.  Competition is something that keeps Nicu young and gives him the pressure that he needs to come up with new ideas.  

In short a very interesting story from a great designer!  

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Ben Cross from Crosslands Flower Nursery is a specialist and a 4th generation Alstroemeria grower, as well as the Founder of the British Flowers Rock Campaign. 

Ben is an exceptional man and true flower lover who won the 'Empowering Communities Award' which recognizes people who make an outstanding contribution towards conservation, biodiversity, and climate change.👏🏻

Listen to the podcast of Flower Circus Talks to hear Ben's story, bold ideas, and the mission of his projects.🌺

After making 121 magazines in 20 years Fusion Flower stops.

All these years the magazine was a podium for young floral designers and an inspiration source for florists and designers all over the planet.

We are talking with Alison Bradley the editor of Fusion Flowers; about the adventures she had over the years. Highlights with meeting designers, winning awards, and much more.

By the reactions of all people during the Talks you see how much the magazine (and Alison) meant for everybody. It's a pity the magazine has to stop, but one thing is for sure: Alison will be around, and we are really delighted about that!