Creating a Relationship with a Floral Wholesaler (Part 1)
Jake and Heather Photo
Maybe it is just a dream, but I'd love to see every florist find a great partner in their floral wholesaler and continue celebrating the floral world by building a strong team.
Wholesalers offer a world of flowers and foliage vast, alluring, and varied. One wonders why we don't reach out to them more often!
No one else understands the demands, challenges, long hours, hard work, commitment, rewards, and love of being a florist more than they do!
Your job is to start with a positive, flexible mind-set, reach out, share information, ask questions and do the work of educating yourself.
And a floral wholesaler’s task is to educate, serve, and provide a timely quality product within an efficient process.
The Florist-Wholesaler Relationship: Where to Start
Everyone starts at a beginning. Everyone has a first time for everything. Mine, as a florist, was walking wide-eyed into a wholesaler's enormously freezing building. As everyone around me moved confidently with purpose and direction, I didn't even know where to stand, where the cooler was, whether I could go in or if I needed to ask, and if I could take flowers out of the cooler buckets (yes you can, but try not to drip water on the other flowers, especially the roses).
Trust me. We have all been there! So I took a deep breath and cautiously said to a lady standing near me, "I love the color palette of your flowers." She smiled, we briefly chatted, and I suddenly felt like I belonged there. I hope this article will help you during some of those What do I do? moments, know what questions to ask, and help you gain confidence. Whether we are experienced florists or new to the field, we all have more to learn, something different to try, and a fresh perspective to see.
What Do Floral Wholesalers Do?
Floral wholesalers source floral products from growers locally, U.S. grown, and world markets. They ship throughout the world and offer a variety of ways for you to receive your order.
Some ship directly from growers and will even ship to your event's destination. Their sales associate teams have a depth of experience gained from years of working within the industry at multiple departments and offer a tremendous resource of information and support to you.
Types of Floral Wholesale Markets:
National Wholesalers
Wholesalers local to you (which may also be national)
Direct Buy: buy and ship directly from growers to you—i.e., IBuyFlowers & Florabundance
U.S. Grower Owned Markets, such as the San Francisco Flower Market. (In-depth information on the 5 U.S. Grower Owned Markets can be found on each of their websites listed at the end of this article, as their processes vary significantly)
Specialty Wholesalers: i.e., specializing in a specific product like smilax
Flower Farms (See Team Flower's excellent articles on flower farms here)
Though I have limited knowledge of the complex and enormous wholesale floral industry, I hope it will shed light on your concerns, questions, and misunderstandings and help you to understand how these professionals can be a tremendous asset.
This article will focus on national and local wholesalers based on my experience and recent interviews. (Other wholesalers' processes differ slightly)
Where to Find a Wholesaler
Online resources such as the Florists’ Review Sourcebook.
Ask a florist friend where he/she orders.
Social media. If you see an Instagram or Facebook Flower Group post showing a particularly gorgeous flower arrangement or an incredible flower, ask, "Where did you buy those gorgeous ranunculuses?"
How to Build a Relationship with a Floral Wholesaler
Step One: Open an Account!
Taking that first step can be somewhat daunting, and many new florists put it off or have tried and had a bad experience registering.
I recommend registering with at least one nationwide wholesaler for online ordering, one within driving distance, if available, and perhaps one specializing in a particular product (i.e., Alaskan Peonies, Smilax, Florida Greens).
You can register in person, by calling, or online. As one experienced florist commented in the Team Flower Community Forum, the best practice would be to physically visit or call the wholesaler. I couldn't agree more on how helpful this initial contact can be!
Jake and Heather Photo
On First Contact, Take this opportunity to:
Ask to meet with any sales rep (one will be assigned to you after registering).
Discuss ordering processes, lead times, and how to find out pricing.
Walk the cooler, peek inside the organic cooler, and check out the live plant/botanicals section.
Check for product quality and varieties in the cooler.
Watch interactions between customer service and other florists/customers. Do you see friendliness? Helpfulness? Does it seem to be a place of positive energy?
If you've experienced multiple unsuccessful attempts at requesting assistance in registering by calling, emailing, or online, I suggest moving on to another wholesaler. It's a good indication of poor communication and/or customer service you may experience with them in the future.
Also, if, for whatever reason, you are not comfortable in continuing to work with your current sales rep, call the main office and request to work with another representative rather than 'disappear' as a florist vendor.
Be careful not to disparage them over social media, but do be upfront about any issues with the main office so they can address and improve them so future florists will have a better experience. And remember, we each have a unique personality, so you may simply work better with a different sales rep.
Opening a Floral Wholesale Account
To open an account, wholesalers may require a collection of things. The following are examples of some tasks you will need to accomplish.
Complete a form specific to the wholesaler, including contact information, business name, etc.
Some wholesalers require a Business License.
A Reseller's or Seller's Permit if your state has a statewide sales tax (obtain from your state's Department of Taxation and Finance). This License / Permit allows you to purchase products from your wholesaler without paying sales tax to the wholesaler. When you sell your "products and/or services," you charge taxes to your client, collect them, then pay that tax to your state, either monthly, quarterly, or annually depending upon your volume. Check with your state or small business department for what is and is not taxable as a florist.
A Tax-Exempt Certificate if your state does not have a statewide sales tax.
Complete a Resale Certificate provided by your wholesaler (this form indicates that the purchaser (you) will resell the items and report tax if your state requires).
A Credit Card on file for orders/shipping charges.
After you apply, the wholesaler will review your paperwork and check to see if you truly operate as a florist (they will look at your webpage, social media, etc.). This prevents DIYers from gaining access to wholesale pricing, in effect protecting you as a business. You should hear back in 24–48 hours and be assigned a sales rep, typically via email, with their contact information.
What you should ask when opening your account:
Do you charge a membership fee or require a badge? (Facilities open to the public typically provide a badge which shows the growers you are eligible for wholesale pricing when you come in person.)
What is the policy to add someone to your account? (This especially important if you are a brick and mortar florist and have staff.) Can they order as well as pickup?
What is their shipping and delivery policy, fees, and days of the week times for deliveries to your area? Will they only deliver to a storefront, or will they deliver to residences? (This is important for studio-based florists.)
What are their policies for paying or not paying sales tax at the time of purchase?
Best way to order from them—i.e., phone call, fax, email, online?
When will I hear from a sales rep after I register? After I order? What if my rep is on vacation?
May I get on your email list for pricing lists, upcoming events, or specials?
Policies on bad product, incorrect order, or cancellations
Do they partner/carry products with local flower farms?
Jake and Heather Photo
Floral Wholesale Ordering—Chose your Style!
Do you prefer emails, on-site ordering, or online ordering? Are you open to trying something new?
Online ordering has grown exponentially and creatively. Floral wholesalers are always looking to improve your experience, efficiency, and help with budgetary boundaries. Here are some exciting new ways to order with some great wholesalers!
Are you struggling with your stem count and making it all come out on budget? Try Mayesh's new Product Planner that gives flower availability for your event date, tallies up the number of stems you'll need from your recipe, and provides a quote from your sales rep.
Direct Box Lots, such as DV Flora & Mayesh's Direct Farm and Dutch Box Lots, allows you to choose full boxes of flowers/foliage harvested and shipped directly from growers to your door or to a wholesaler for you to pick up. Their special pricing is based on fresh product for same-week ordering only. Any future orders should be placed with your sales rep.
Floral Pulls: Send your sales rep a budget, color palette, and any inspiration images you have, and with their eye for color and option to walk their cooler inventory, they will create a custom floral pull for your review, addition, deletion, and final approval before it is carefully packed and shipped to you. Review shipping options and costs with your sales rep before your final approval. Some wholesalers also have prepared pulls available for you to purchase as is.
DV Flora's DV Crush is a super creative way one wholesaler is encouraging and giving opportunities for designers to create outside the box with product they may not normally purchase. Each month 12 participants are randomly chosen from those enrolled in the program and sent "surprise" boxes of fresh-cut flowers. Your challenge is to create something magical while chronicling the process on Instagram! (Sign me up!!)
If you are a florist specifically interested in American Grown product, you have many resources available to you. Be sure to check out Slow Flowers for wholesalers of American-grown flowers as well as DV Flora's site. DV Flora is the nation's first certified American Grown Flowers Distributor offers florists an online directory to conveniently purchase homegrown flowers and greens.
If you order/purchase your flowers on-site, wear a warm jacket (maybe gloves), rubber-soled shoes and bring buckets for those "don't like being out of water" flowers.
Jake and Heather Photo
THe Wholesale Flower’s journey
A large percentage of product problems are the result of temperature issues starting once your product is harvested.
Wholesalers have a critical logistical process in place called "Cold Chain" to keep your flowers fresh in a consistent 34–38 F cold temperature at all points of the production chain. (Tropical flowers are handled differently).
It starts at the farm where harvested flowers/greens go to a refrigerated room for fresh cuts, grading, bunching, and sleeving, then into containers where they wait in a cooler for transport.
A refrigerated truck takes them to the airport, then onto a refrigerated cargo plan. Upon arrival, the flowers are held in a refrigerated hall to await Customs, then go back onto a refrigerated truck or plane for shipment to customer distribution centers or your wholesaler.
Your wholesaler follows this same Cold Chain within their facility and for shipping directly to you. Southern Floral in Texas, one of the oldest and largest floral wholesalers, utilizes a "Chain of Life Chilled Water Wet Pack System" for handling and distributing pre-cooled product and transporting upright in water via refrigerated trucks. These stringent processes ensure fresher longer-life product for you.
Floral Wholesale Prices
Wholesale prices can fluctuate weekly, seasonally, around holidays, and are ultimately dependent upon grower's prices, consumer demand, season, weather, growing conditions, global impacts on staffing and transportation.
Wholesalers have “standing orders” in large quantities of regularly ordered product (i.e., popular roses like Playa Blanca) with a grower(s) with proven high-quality products and reliability. By anticipating the demand, they can secure a set bulk price from the grower.
The grower can then anticipate what they need to grow and what will sell. If that threshold is exceeded, [florist's early orders = first in - first filled] the buyer will need to search the open market or the inventory in Miami (the central hub for worldwide shipping) to fulfill the additional order, which can mean different pricing.
Covid-19 has had a serious effect on availability, transportation, and costs. There are fewer workers planting, managing, picking, and loading trucks and planes. Many farms were literally forced to be abandoned, and once operations began to resume, production was severely affected by issues such as diseases, bug infestations, etc. Many plants require constant care, like pinching in the early days, and some were so affected they had to be destroyed.
Finding those prices: Keep in mind that prices may vary from week to week.
Online wholesalers: if ordering online, pricing will either be listed by the stem or bunch with # stems/bunch or pop up once you “add to cart” or you will receive a quote via email
My local wholesaler has current price list sheets by the cooler entry door, and I always grab them to have on hand as I roam the cooler and keep them for future reference.
Ask your sales rep, especially if you are special ordering a particular flower—you don't want a surprise that it exceeds your budget after ordering!
Local wholesalers typically email weekly price sheets and specials for that week, so make sure you are on their mailing list!
Keep old price lists, which helps you also have a reference for when product was in season. For example, if peonies were in season last July, what was the cost on July's price list? Mark it up to adjust for inflation.
Freelancers: ask the florist you are working for how/where they get their prices.
Ask if shipping costs are incorporated into stem count as some point of sale systems do that.
A suggested minimum $300 flower order will maximize freight space and provide the best shipping costs for you.
Jake and Heather Photo
Why are some flowers so expensive?
Let's start at the beginning. Flower trends are constantly evolving, and growers and wholesalers are trying to keep ahead of new demands.
It takes years to develop new varieties of roses, like the popular cappuccino rose, into full production. Very few growers in the world currently offer this unique variety, thus keeping availability down and prices up.
A new variety or color is years in the making: cross-pollinating, being evaluated, entering into breeder's production, building up enough quantities to release, and lots and lots of labor. Breeding a new David Austin English Rose may take up to 10 years! Once new varieties are released, growers must decide what the demand will be in years to come and plant accordingly.
Other than market demand, growing conditions and flower production time are factors that set pricing. If big growers are in full seasonal production of a crop, prices are lower—and conversely, if production was negatively affected in any way, prices are higher. Some flowers, like peonies, are a long-term crop—meaning they can take years to be in full production—growing them is labor-intensive, and they are subject to soil-borne diseases which can devastate a crop.
I sincerely hope your love of and curiosity about flowers will lead you to reach out to the amazing teams at one of the many wonderful wholesalers and form a relationship you'll never regret.
A heart of gratitude to my local wholesaler, Flora Fresh Inc. in Sacramento, and my sales rep at Mayesh, a national wholesaler, for answering my numerous questions and offering their valuable insight!
List of Grower-Owned Wholesalers in the U.S.
Seattle Wholesale Growers Market
Special Discount from Mayesh
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*Only valid for one (1) online Mayesh Direct BoxLot order placed via mayesh.com until 4/15/2021 by entering coupon code “TEAMFLOWER21”. The coupon is NOT valid with any other types of orders or other promotions. To get the discount, you must apply the coupon code to your order before checking out. Enter the coupon code and click "APPLY COUPON" when checking out before clicking the "PLACE ORDER" button.
