2 minute read
WORLD NEWS
from FCI February 2022
by KISAN
RUSSIA
Dutch Chrysanthemums take centre stage in St Petersburg
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St Petersburg is arguably one of Russia’s best wedding destinations. Wedding ceremonies are unthinkable without flowers. No wonder Dutch Chrysanthemums occupied pride of place at St Petersburg’s inaugural bridal show Wedding Guide Expo.
Russia’s ‘Second City’ is one of the world’s most beautiful cities with a striking imperial style. Think Baroque and Neoclassical architecture and hundreds of bridges crossing the river Neva. Built by Peter the Great 319 years ago, the Gulf of Finland city attracts couples who want to say “I do” in grand style. The former capital of the tsars and tsarinas was the venue of choice of the inaugural edition of Wedding Guide Expo, Russia’s new luxury bridal expo, held at hotel Azimut on 22 January 2022. Dutch Chrysanthemums helped to set the mood of celebration. They added colour, joy, romance and glamour to the many bridal bouquets, boutonnières, and floral centrepieces, created by a talented team of Russian floral designers. Chrysanthemums in a rainbow of colours, shapes and textures inspired brides and grooms to be. More than 2,000 flowers sent with love from Dutch Chrysanthemum breeders and growers, reinforced the bloom’s image as the top wedding flower. Dutch Chrysanthemums have proven popular with Russian consumers for many years and are available everywhere, from metro kiosks, flower stalls, grocery stores and florist shops. Russians tend to see them as an everyday flower, somewhat unimaginative and mainstream. To turn the tide of unpopular opinion, Dutch Chrysanthemum professionals united under the flag of Chryson. This group regularly teams up with the cream of Russia’s floral artists to change the Chrysanthemum image. Chryson is a co-operation of Chrysanthemum breeders and propagators (Armada, Deliflor, Dekker Chrysanten, Dümmen Orange, Floritec and Royal Van Zanten). Chryson and its JustChrys campaign use practical know-how, market research and innovative thinking. Their projects cover all aspects of marketing, including product photography, floral arrangements, advertising and point of sales, to present the new image of the Chrysanthemum. For more information, visit:
www.justchrys.com
The Chrysanthemum event at Wedding Guide Expo is the brainchild of Natasja Mironova, owner of marketing agency Sobolj who runs the successful Russian floral trend platform
www.flowerexperience.eu
Sobolj/Flowerexperience prepared an event video on this link HERE.
NETHERLANDS
Dutch auction house Royal FloraHolland reports a turnover of €5.6 billion in flower and plant sales for 2021, an increase of 800 million over the pre-Covid-19 record year of 2019.
More than 14.1 billion plants and flowers changed hands in 2021 at Royal FloraHolland’s four marketplaces: Aalsmeer, Naaldwijk, Rijnsburg and Eelde. In 2019, supply volumes were 12.3 billion with a turnover of €4.8 billion. In 2020, the auction reported 4.7 billion in flower and plant sales in the first year of the pandemic, with supply volumes amounting to 11.4 billion.Turnover increased thanks to 20 per cent higher median prices for plants and flowers compared to 2019. Turnover increased across all categories: cut flowers, potted plants, and garden plants. Operating profit amounted to €5.6 million thanks to lower expenses. This calculation reflects the annual report 2019 published on 23 April 2020. In 2021, the share of sales through the auction’s digital platform was more than 1 billion. Royal FloraHolland is a cooperative with 5,406 suppliers and 2,458 customers.
