by Nick Matchett
With a supply map that covers virtually every corner of the globe, The Flower Hub is a truly international business. However we know that in such a dynamic and constantly changing industry it is important to keep our knowledge about different territories firmly up to date, and get boots on the ground to see things for ourselves. With this in mind, our UK-based team recently took a tour of Spain to visit some specialist growers of carnations, lilies and antirrhinum (amongst other varieties), and to learn more about the Spanish flower market.
Starting in Seville, our team conducted a comp shop across Spain’s major supermarket chains and florists. It was instantly apparent that the way flowers are bought and sold at retail level is very different in Spain to the UK. Whereas British flower shoppers mainly purchase their blooms at their local supermarket all year round, Spanish supermarkets stock very few (and often none at all) cut flower arrangements, with most customers buying from florists at specific times of the year – All Saints’ Day is the big event!
Following a couple of days’ market research, the team moved on to Chipiona, a quiet town in the Cádiz region with a very busy cut-flower growing industry. The fertile plains of Chipiona are perfect for growing lots of different varieties, but are especially well known for their carnation production, which is the largest in the whole of Spain. The team were shown around a host of different greenhouses and introduced to some very passionate growers across the course of the day, leaving with plenty of food for thought on the potential for complementing Spanish flower arrangements with the wide range of Kenyan blooms that we can offer week-in week-out.
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