Events

Nationwide, July is the worst month for flower sales. Valentine’s Day is long over. Easter has come and gone. And Mother’s Day is in the rearview mirror. Consumers just don’t have a compelling reason to buy flowers in July. Until now.

“A political solution to a promotion problem”

In 2017, a group of American flower and greens farmers worked with Congress to have July officially declared “American Grown Flowers Month.” In recognition of that designation, in 2018, Certified American Grown Flowers (americangrownflowers.org) held the first-ever “American Grown Flowers Month Merchandising Contest.”

The idea was twofold:

1) give floral retailers the excuse and opportunity to market the patriotic theme to their customers (complementing promotions in other departments)

2) tell the story and inspire the celebration of the amazing blooms and greens America’s farmers can produce.

After all, the timing is perfect. Seasonal domestic production is at its peak. From Alaska to Florida, Virginia to California, the most beautiful, fragrant varieties are available to consumers nationally.

Yet, for retailers, July represents one of the worst – if not the worst – month of sales for the year. July is the best production month of the year for America Grown Flowers, and yet, retail sales are at their lowest. This problem deserves a solution.

To help inspire retailers, Certified American Grown Flowers worked with farmers and industry stakeholders to develop a solution – one that helps farmers and retailers and introduces Certified American Grown flowers and greens to more consumers – all at the same time.

The inaugural American Grown Flowers Month Merchandising Contest attracted 11 retailers representing more than 1,200 retail locations. Participating stores reported an average sales increase of 6.7 percent in the month of July. The average sales increase for the top five stores from each participating company was more than 17.5 percent.

And the promotion program received rave reviews. “The American Grown Flowers Month contest not only helped our year-over-year sales but also was a great solution for improving our summer season,” shared Crystal Hedgpeth, of NorCal Safeway.

And Megan Moriarty, of Big Y Foods, called it, “an exciting campaign that provides a monthly focus in July – a natural fit – with strong sales for our first year participating. We’re looking forward to planning our 2019 campaign partnership.”

Thanks to real data and reviews like this, in the months after the first contest, Certified American Grown Flowers was able to sign up even more stores to participate during PMA’s Fresh Summit last October.

In 2019, we’re expecting more than 2,000 retail locations to participate in the merchandising contest and take advantage of this promotion and marketing opportunity to drive sales throughout the month of July.

Learn more about American Grown Flowers Month by visiting americangrownflowers.org/agfm. Participating in the merchandising contest is not a requirement for participating in the promotion of American Grown Flowers Month. However, if you’d like to learn more about the contest, visit americangrown flowers.org/julycontest.