Industry News BY AMANDA JEDLINSKY


CHANGES UNDERWAY FOR AWARD-WINNING ‘THAT FLOWER FEELING’


> In the two years after CalFlowers (the California Association of Flower Growers and Shippers) launched the national marketing brand That Flower Feeling, its “Flowers. Self Care Made Easy” cam- paign won awards and garnered atten- tion on social media and throughout the industry. Now, as the brand enters its third


year, plans are underway for the next campaign. The brand’s initial campaign won the


Society of American Florists’ Marketer of the Year contest in 2023, and a Bronze Award in the “Luxury and Premium Brand” category in the global Epica Awards in 2022. It also racked up more than 102 million impressions on a variety of social media and streaming platforms in its first two years. Since then, the brand has evolved


to include the That Flower Feeling Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization created by CalFlowers, which manages the campaign and oversees fundraising. The foundation has a fundraising


goal of $2.5 million for the upcoming campaign, and CalFlowers is its largest contributor, pledging $500,000 per year over three years in addition to covering the foundation’s adminis- trative costs and the salaries of two staffers. The foundation’s advisory board,


which recently welcomed two new members — FJ Trzuskowski of Continental Floral Greens and Carmen Marquez of Ball SB — is preparing to launch a branded flower


EVOLVING VISION CalFlowers launched the That Flower Feeling marketing initiative, which won SAF’s Marketer of the Year award in 2023. Steve Dionne, AAF, executive director of CalFlowers, is leaving the organization to relocate to the Netherlands.


sleeve in partnership with major supermarket chains. A portion of the proceeds from every bouquet sold with the TFF sleeve will go to That Flower Feeling’s fundraising efforts, supporting the continued growth and success of the campaign. In addition, the board is also conducting a test market for the “Flowers. Self Care Made Easy” campaign in Texas to evaluate its effectiveness. Since its inception, the founda-


tion was led by Steve Dionne, AAF, the executive director of CalFlowers. Dionne is relocating to the Netherlands and stepping away from his role with


both organizations by March 31. CalFlowers in February appointed Lane DeVries, AAF, to succeed Dionne. DeVries will help develop plans


for That Flower Feeling’s next cam- paign, which could be a repositioning of the previous self-care message or a completely new marketing campaign, says Jeanne Taggart Boes, president of CalFlowers and executive director of the San Francisco Flower Market. Either way, the goal remains the


same: to shift the perception of flowers from being seen as a luxury or holiday item to something purchased regularly for personal enjoyment.


GREEN CAREER WEEK RETURNS TO INSPIRE STUDENTS For many companies, Green Career


> Businesses and educators across the country are once again coming together to introduce students to career oppor- tunities in horticulture and related green industries. Green Career Week, held March 3-7, 2025, is a nationwide initia- tive spearheaded by Seed Your Future to connect students with rewarding career paths in plant science, floral design, landscaping, sustainable agriculture and more.


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Week has become an essential oppor- tunity to engage with future industry professionals. In past years, businesses have used the event to not only spark students’ curiosity about horticulture but also to gain fresh marketing insights. At a Green Career Week event last


fall, high school students in Miami met with employees of Jet Fresh Flower Distributors, eager to learn about the


FLORAL MANAGEMENT | March/April 2025 | WWW.SAFNOW.ORG


sustainability efforts of the floral indus- try, its global reach and key flower-giving holidays. “It is amazing to see these students


and how much they knew about horti- culture,” says Mimi Pacheco of Jet Fresh, who visited the school as part of the event. “It was very inspiring. They had so many questions.” The visit didn’t just ignite interest in floriculture careers — it also sparked


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