As Valentine’s Day approaches, we at FMI Farms want our customers to know that we promise to make every effort to communicate with you and keep you up to date on the latest flower wholesale information. We understand how vitally important this holiday is for your business and your bottom line. And we are ready to do our part to make you look your absolute best.
There is no doubt that Valentine’s Day is the most important day of the year not only for florists, but for everyone involved in the flower industry. The process of getting those beautiful blooms to your shop requires hundreds of people working together in a highly coordinated effort for weeks.
The flower wholesale challenge
For those of us on the flower wholesale side, our greatest challenge is timing our distributions. The best case scenario is that we receive our shipment from Ecuador the day or night before your shipment is due to your flower shop. Of course, during this busy time of year, we aim to ship early and divide shipments, since freight space is at a premium.
Fortunately, since FMI Farms is family owned and operated, we have excellent relationships with our family farms back in Ecuador. These rose farms have been in the family for generations ensuring that we receive the demanded quantity and more importantly, the superior quality that our retail customers have come to expect.
The “pinch” and your flower shipment
Besides the proper timing of distributions, there is another challenge that can affect your shipment. We all know that the flower business is highly dependent on weather patterns. This means that one part of creating the ideal customer experience is simply out of our control.
Still, skilled farmers consult with scientists to fine-tune their harvests working with Mother Nature as much as possible. In order to have the largest possible harvest of flowers at the peak of their growth cycles, farmers must choose the optimal time to perform a process called the “pinch.”
Each year, as the US demand for roses steadily increases, rose farms in Ecuador are put under enormous pressure to deliver and exceed expectations. Agronomists (scientists who research plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science in order to solve various problems) do their best to recommend the right time to “pinch” back rose plants to allow them to produce more plentiful and larger blooms in the coming months. But, as we all know, predicting the weather is really more of an art than a science.
Warm weather causes the pinched roses to bloom early forcing farms to harvest and process early shipments. This is good news for florists. Early flower wholesale shipments means that florists get their roses early. You may recall that last year, at this time, Miami was flooded with roses because the crop peaked early.
When the reverse happens and cold weather causes pinched roses to be harvested later, there is less time for your roses to travel from Ecuador to your retail shop. This can lead to an increase in costs and limited availability. This is the situation this year. The weather in South America has been unusually cold and rainy.
What is the outlook for Valentine’s Day 2017?
In terms of what you can expect this year, we are getting reports of there being a late harvest. At FMI Farms, we want our customers to understand how this could affect you. Logistically, we are working around the clock to make sure you receive your flowers as quickly as possible from Ecuador.
However, the late harvest and resulting tight supply affects the entire industry. So, no matter what flower wholesale distributor you choose, you should expect to see the following during this holiday season:
- On average smaller heads,
- Thinner stems,
- Higher costs,
- Limited availability,
- Substitutions,
- Delayed deliveries, and
- Partial shipments.
We understand that this is not optimal, but we are asking for patience as we do our best to meet your needs. FMI is available around the clock at 866-916-5360 to answer your questions and listen to your concerns.
Given this situation, we are doing whatever we can to speed up the shipping process and take control of what we can control. We ship primarily FedEx overnight, to anywhere in the country next day. We have reserved with FedEx ample space on flights leaving South Florida.
We have even added an option for last-minute shipments scheduled to to arrive on 02/13 Monday. Here is our shipping availability for the week leading up to Valentine’s Day.
- 02/06 Monday UNAVAILABLE
- 02/07 Tuesday AVAILABLE
- 02/08 Wednesday AVAILABLE
- 02/09 Thursday AVAILABLE
- 02/10 Friday AVAILABLE
- 02/11 & 02/12 Saturday & Sunday AVAILABLE
- 02/13 Monday AVAILABLE
With all of this said, we remain optimistic that Valentine’s Day 2017 will go into the books as a success for our customers and ourselves. We will stay in constant contact with our suppliers in Ecuador and let you know of any significant developments during the next two weeks.
It is often difficult to be reminded that the flower wholesale business is a business where we can only control so much. Although our business depends on growing each and every blossom, ultimately, nature controls what grows. If we had it our way, we’d deliver the perfect shipment each and every time. But the fact is that the perfect combination of light, water, nutrients, and luck just doesn’t happen every year.
Let’s all work together to make the best of this Valentine’s Day retail season!
