Shavuos Flowers - Help appreciated!

amother

Silver

Mon, May 30 2016, 10:49 am

I'm a regular poster here and hoping for some input from both individuals that sell flowers for Shavuos and from the general public that buy. We're new to the field and this will be our first Shavuos.

What sort of flowers to you generally buy, regular bouquets, exotic flower arrangements, or flowers arranged on floral foam (aka oasis)?

How much would you spend?

Do you generally buy flowers for yourself only or do you also send some to family/friends?

If you sell:
Please give me a rough idea ~ how do I know how much to buy? Four times as much as a regular Shabbos or more? What price range is most popular?

If it helps, I live in a city probably the size of Lakewood but not in the USA. I understand that every part of the world is different but it will clue me in to approximations.

Thanks in advance!!!

greenfire

Mon, May 30 2016, 11:10 am

btdt & know several others who have tried selling flowers ~ didn't pan out to be lucrative parnasah [at least you will end up with gorgeous flowers for yourself as a nice bonus] unless you have weekly clients and/or live in a median income neighborhood [rich people will just have them delivered from the nice florist - poor people cannot afford them]

not many people can afford the higher prices & therefore you have to make them affordable - those people will buy cheap grocery store flowers which are mostly carnations & mums

sell them before you buy them so that you know how many bouquets to make

you need to buy the nicer flowers ...

don't waste monies on the foam

bigsis144

Mon, May 30 2016, 11:15 am

I buy the cheapest flowers from the grocery store. $15 is utterly extravagant for me, $4-$6 is closer to my price range Smile

I usually look for what's in season and on sale -- tulips in the spring, the occasional bouquet of sunflowers or gerbera daisies or stargazer lilies. (I've never been into roses, and if I buy roses, I never buy red, pink or white -- I tend to go for yellow or orange.)

amother

Indigo

Tue, May 31 2016, 12:59 pm

I used to order flowers on line to in-laws and sometimes for host families who would invite us for meals. My budgets were up to $30 for in-laws (they have high standard of living and accustomed to receiving nice things) but more like $20 for friends because it's more like in lieu of wine or other hostess gifts. I stopped using on line services and I've used different websites because their deliveries could be unreliable or they send poor quality flowers, especially EMBARASSING when you go there for 2nd day yontov and see the flowers wilting already. Nowadays I prefer to send fruits baskets instead of flowers, though it would be nice if I can get floral table assortment that's affordable but good quality. It doesn't have to be exotic or posh flowers.

Tue, May 31 2016, 1:19 pm

I rarely ever buy flowers, but I'll try to help.

For Shavuot we are likely to get cut flowers (not an arrangement). I don't know how much my husband spends, but he does not have expensive taste. I might like exotic or special flowers for a holiday, but our budget is certainly less than $25. We do not send flowers to other people. We don't get flowers routinely for Shabbat, so I can't compare.

We're more potted plant people.

I hope others who are closer to your target demographic respond, and good luck with your business!

amother

Sapphire

Tue, May 31 2016, 1:39 pm

We don't spend a lot. We usually pick out $30 worth of pretty long stemmed flowers from an inexpensive vendor, add some pretty green inexpensive fillers, and fill up a vase aestheticly.
We buy something small and pretty in the same price range for both our mothers/parents. Last year we found little square glass vases with artfully arranged red roses (inside the glass vase was a foam with large leaf around it) in that price range ($25) and bought those for our parents. They were wonderful and I saw they kept selling out of that and making more since it was really pretty and affordable.
The pretty, larger (had to look bigger and classy for them to be the popular ones) but only slightly more expensive arrangements ($50) were also popular there. I don't know your demographic but a lot of people are looking for the most bang for their buck instead of the most expensive types of flowers or the big ugly inexpensive arrangements filled with carnations and the like.
I know this is a tough business because it's hard to make money from inexpensive items and hard to make them look expensive too but that's what sells in the $25-$50 range.

groovy1224

Tue, May 31 2016, 1:52 pm

For shavuous, my husband will sometimes splurge and buy a $50 arrangement. (but that includes the vase and delivery). I love flowers and follow my favorites on social media, and from what I've seen, people are gravitating more towards the bold side. Bright orchids, exotic textures and colors, etc. I haven't seen as much of the old classics- like roses & baby's breath, but of course there will always be people that love those.
I don't know what a floral foam is, but I think people tend to buy either bouquets, or arrangements in a vase. I imagine the most popular price range is $20-$50. I think people order both for themselves and for others. It's definitely a popular shavuous hostess gift. Can't advise on the volume of orders you'll receive though- hopefully a florist will be able to respond and help you out!

Good luck!

thunderstorm

Tue, May 31 2016, 1:56 pm

I buy something small from my kids school such as a dozen roses or a mix of cheap flowers, they have a Shavuos flower program. Otherwise the rest I buy in home depot or walmart...I like flowers in hanging planters which last me all season after yom tov. We also have something called a Shavuos box in our home. We used to purchase fake flowers in craft stores and decorate the entire house with them....by now we have a big collection and the kids enjoy putting them up before yom tov.

HonesttoGod

Wed, Jun 01 2016, 11:44 am

I buy flowers for YT.
I spend $40-60 and once or twice spent $80 (that was not worth it, the flowers did not last from that florist).
I am very last minute so I usually go on Erev yom tov either take a vase with me and have them fill it or buy a vase there and fill it with flowers that match the colors I want.

Iymnok

Wed, Jun 01 2016, 2:33 pm

For Shavuot people like to also put greenery around their house. Sell small bundles of the green filler such as large leaves, vines, pretty branches...
If you can find a way to make a big bouquet for less money, that would sell. I'd buy bright colors arranged nicely surrounded by lots of filler greens.