Floral Departments Prep for Mother’s Day Uncertainty

The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) recently began hosting weekly virtual town halls for members of the fresh produce industry from across the supply chain to address issues and concerns related to the coronavirus and its impacts. In recent years, PMA’s focus has expanded to also include floral departments in grocery stores, making these forums a vital resource for anyone connected to that part of the market.

As the floral industry gears up for the potential uncertainty of Mother’s Day, here are some insights from the recent discussions (note that direct quotes attributed to speakers and attendees are not permitted).

• PMA has set up a COVID-19 Resources and Updates website with critical information and tools for the industry.
• The floral industry is focused on making flowers important, if not essential. As one speaker noted, “We are not socially responsible when we stop buying flowers.”
• Many retailers anticipate the timeframe and the ways customers shop for Mother’s Day will be different this year. Some expect higher demand in virtual shopping, more sales spread out over the week prior to Mother’s Day, and challenges in managing social distancing in stores that weekend.
• Stores in some states are struggling with staffing. In a few cases, floral employees are being moved to produce departments, forcing the floral departments to scale down by cutting SKUs.
• The biggest concerns come from states where COVID-19 has yet to peak. In Texas, for example, coronavirus cases are expected to peak in early May, which will make it challenging for both staffing and for customer demand.
• Operations that supply product directly to grocery stores are implementing social distancing practices in their production facilities, which affects capacity. Some producers have had to increase shifts to stretch out their employees so they can maintain safe distances from each other.

One new initiative PMA is leading is the “Joy of Fresh” campaign, which is designed to promote produce and flowers by helping industry members share compelling stories; work with partners to amplify how floral products benefit consumers; and provide tools and resources to make this happen. Learn more here.