With an estimated $2.6 billion spent in 2021 alone, Mother’s Day in the U.S. absolutely “rules” as the top occasion each year for floral spending here. In fact, the volume of gifts of fresh flowers and plants purchased for Mother’s Day even exceeds what’s spent on floral and fresh plant purchases for Valentine’s Day.
This year, Mother’s Day in the U.S. will be celebrated on Sunday, May 8. It’s certainly a fabulous way for spouses to honor their wives who are moms, and for grateful sons and daughters to say thanks to their moms, grandmothers, and great grandmas.
Personally, I also believe it’s a wonderful opportunity to recognize “other moms” – special women who may have influenced our lives in positive, supportive ways. So, this Mother’s Day, why not honor a favorite mentor who’s also a mom or perhaps a special family friend, mother-in-law, teacher, parent’s spouse, or other special person.
Saying it with Flowers
Everyone knows that flowers are a perfect way to show love and appreciation – certainly all our busy customers do! Research gleaned from the Society of American Florists’ website shows that 65 percent of Americans “feel special” when receiving flowers. In addition, 60 percent believe a gift of flowers has a special meaning unlike any other gift, and 77 percent perceive those who give flowers to be “thoughtful.”
Most notably, 92 percent of women say the best reason to receive flowers is “just because.” In addition, it’s just as good to give as to receive, as 80 percent of Americans say receiving flowers makes them feel happy, while 88 percent say the act of giving flowers makes them happy.
Expressing My Appreciation
What all this means to those of us supporting the fresh-cut flower industry, including the employees of the Prime Group of companies, is that it is one of our busiest times of year. I’m deeply appreciative of all our skilled, professional logistics and perishables experts for their care in handling the entire perishables shipping and transport process for our customers – forwarders, retailers, wholesalers, and the like.
Their important role in this highly specialized cold supply chain starts with arranging for the bulk fresh-cut flower shipments to be picked up by refrigerated trucks from producers in Ecuador and Colombia and swiftly transporting the blooms and plants all the way from the airport of export to U.S. markets, coast to coast. There are myriad steps in between, as you might imagine, but suffice to say our Prime Group people know precisely what they’re doing – as we’ve been in the fresh-flower and perishables business for more than 20 years. We also transfer many flowers into and out of at Amsterdam, our major European gateway for floral shipments and other commodities. So we’ve pretty much got the world covered.
Business aside, though, I’d like to wish all our valued customers and employees a wonderful Mother’s Day. And if you’re a mom, thank you for all you do, day in and day out. You inspire, you motivate, you bring out the best in us – and help mold the next great generation.
Wishing my own mom and yours too, a very “Happy Mother’s Day.”
~ Roger Paredes, CEO