Gregg Weisstein, co-founder of BloomNation, describes the plight of the U.S. flower industry in the face of tariffs.
BloomNation is an online platform for some 3,500 local flower shops across the U.S., providing customers with guidance on where to shop, and software to help florists run their business.
The latest round of tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration is “definitely” impacting florists. The majority of their product is imported, with most flowers that enter the U.S. sourced from Central and South America, which benefit from a favorable climate and low-cost labor, Weisstein says. In addition, the floral industry imports large amounts of hard goods, including vases and containers for arrangements, primarily from China.
“All costs are going up,” Weisstein says. For their part, small flower businesses typically operate on tight margins and have little negotiating leverage with suppliers. As a result, they’re forced to accept higher prices for their goods.
Weisstein says florists are working with suppliers to get the best possible price, but to date they’ve had to absorb some extra costs, and pass on others to customers, in the face of an across-the-board tariff of 10%, and an even higher amount on goods from China. On average, he says, the industry has seen an increase in order value of 3% to 5%.
The structure of the floral supply chain and advantages of purchasing product from Latin America make it difficult to obtain alternative sourcing, Weisstein says. He sees little change in the industry in the next five years — other than the possible failure or consolidation of numerous small businesses that can no longer afford to operate profitably.
For most buyers, flowers are something of a luxury purchase. The continued health of the industry “comes down to the consumer,” Weisstein says. “If they’re willing to spend money.”