In This Issue ...

1. A Letter From CalFlowers President - Frank Biddle
2. That Flower Feeling
3. TV Programmers Vote ‘YES’ for Season 4 of J Schwanke’s Life In Bloom
4. CalFlowers "New Member" Spotlight
5. Transportation
6. Welcome New CalFlowers Members

Upcoming Events:

2022
SAVE THE DATE

2022 Great Lakes Floral and Events Expo "Inspire" 
March 4 - 6
DeVos Place
Grand Rapids, MI

World Floral Expo 2022
June 8 - 10
Jacob J. Javits Center of New York

AIFD Symposium "Roots"
July 4 - 8
Caesars Forum Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV

Fun 'N Sun
"All About Flowers"
Aug. 29 - Sept. 1, 2022
Hotel del Coronado
Coronado, CA

Click Here to Rediscover the California legend - Hotel del Coronado.

Latest Legislation
Updates:

Click Here to read the latest Legislative updates.

December Birth Flowers:

December’s flowers may be very different from each other—one being a bulb and the other an evergreen shrub—but they both symbolize hope!

The Holly

Holly symbolizes a wish for domestic happiness. 

Although some animals and birds enjoy holly berries, they are semi-toxic to humans.

The good news is that deer tend to avoid eating holly due to their sharp leaves, which makes them a deer-resistant plant for gardens.

The Narcissus (Paperwhite)

Narcissus conveys that you want your beloved to stay just the way they are. 

While there are many types of flowers in the genus Narcissus (including the daffodil), the paperwhite is the winter-growing variety and the birth flower for December. 

CalFlowers
Featured
"New Member" Spotlights

To see all of our past Featured "New Member" Spotlight stories Click Here.

If your company would like to be a featured "New Member", please contact Monnaie Pepin for more details.

Past CalFlowers Newsletters 

Click Here to view past CalFlowers Newsletters now available on our website.

CalFlowers News

A Letter From CalFlowers President - Frank Biddle

Quite a year. There was no "getting back to normal" in 2021, nor does it look like 2022 will lead us down the path to life with no concern about Covid. This said, those of us in the flower business can count ourselves amongst the fortunate; our spectacular product has emerged as an essential part of people's lives. The desire to reach out to loved ones or to treat oneself to a colorful and fragrant dose of self care has put flowers firmly on the list of weekly staples. (Pictured Above - Frank Biddle and his trusty dog Larry)

With a steady eye on encouraging More Americans to enjoy more flowers more often, the board and staff of CalFlowers has been working hard on many projects that we believe will accomplish this goal. Our continued support of AFE research and scholarships helps improve the value of our product and ensures an educated source of future workers and industry leaders. By sponsoring seasons 1 – 4 of J Schwanke's “Life In Bloom”, we help bring the joy of floral arranging into the homes of millions of people, showing them that everyone can enjoy the creative outlet that the floral medium provides. In the spirit of building off the momentum that flowers have gained with the American consumer, your association has undertaken the creation of a marketing campaign that we hope will grow per capita floral consumption even more. The soon to be launched "Flowers, Self Care Made Easy" series of videos and promotional assets is our most ambitious project to date. It is our hope that floral businesses across the spectrum will join us in supporting and promoting this campaign to amplify the message and to lay the groundwork for follow up materials.

The board and staff of Cal Flowers is proud to work on behalf of our members and the floral industry that supports us all. We are experiencing ever accelerating growth in the appreciation for our flowers among consumers and CalFlowers is leading the way to maintain this positive momentum. As we look forward to another busy year full of new challenges, we thank you for your continued support.

TV Programmers Vote ‘YES’ for Season 4 of J Schwanke’s Life In Bloom

Momentum for J Schwanke’s Life In Bloom continues to increase as evidenced by a report from American Public Television (APT), following their Fall Marketplace event. The report reflects increased interest from programmers and a gain in coverage for Season 4, ahead of its debut in April of 2022.

261 stations, surveyed by APT, voted YES for the program. These stations provide national coverage of 81.34% USTVHH (U. S. Television Households) and include stations in 7 of the top 10 and 20 of the top 25 markets. The above are projections for Season 4 – historically, actual broadcast results and coverage is even better.

In addition, the programming team for CREATE, the national 24/7 multicast lifestyle channel

managed and distributed by APT, voted YES for J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom Season 4. CREATE

represents 241 stations that reach 83.49% of USTVHH. Percentage points are calculated for Nielsen Ratings on the day of vote compilation; thus, they represent percentage of coverage the day of voting tabulation.

Also of note: the Season 4 YES vote total 261 is up from the Season 3 YES vote total of 205 – a net gain of 55 stations! J Schwanke’s Life In Bloom continues to gain momentum throughout the country.

“These votes provide a clear affirmation that you have found and continue to evolve an accessible and entertaining series that works well and continues to grow in appeal,” noted Thomas Davison, Director of Business Development for American Public Television (APT).

“Program managers across the country are clearly looking forward to bringing J Schwanke’s Life In Bloom (Season) 4 back into their schedules for the enjoyment and education of their audiences,” Davison concluded.

Click Here to read the press release.

CalFlowers New Member Spotlight

Adara Wholesale is the exclusive distributor of BloomHouse units for mass market and growers in the United States and Canada.  This new system allows growers and wholesalers to provide a value added platform to help sell more flowers at higher price points. 

BloomHouse is a new automated self-service retail delivery system to increase the revenue, profitability and return of investment (ROI) of a new or existing retail location.  It can also elevate the customer buying experience, reduce operating costs and improve the efficiency of your operation after hours.

Our team has over a combined 100 plus years extensive floral specific operations experience in software, marketing and automation that has been synergized to create the first automated floral retail management system for perishables. 

Each BloomHouse smart cooler comes with turn key software and API that can link to almost any POS, Website or Mobile App using secure industry standard data protocols. This allows BloomHouse owners and operators a complete cloud based back end remote management to manage the sales and inventory in each unit.

Now taking orders for January delivery! 

Click Here to see a live unit in action.

Click Here to learn more about BloomHouse.

Transportation

With the holiday season upon us, we can expect logistics across the U.S. to struggle.  Carriers over all segments are under increasing pressure from many sources.  Our overnight carriers, like other segments, are still dealing with labor and operational issues.  When you combine that challenge with record volumes being shipped into their systems, it becomes understandable that consistency is suffering across the board.  Unfortunately, these challenging times are expected to continue into the near-term future especially with holiday season in full swing.  With that, we recommend having patience and looking carefully at the service level you choose when evaluating delivery time options with our carriers.  We strongly suggest choosing the highest priority service available.  This will give your shipment the highest level of service that delivers earlier, as this helps to keep you and your customers’ expectations in line with the current environment.

As is the norm, FedEx will be increasing rates January 3^rd, 2022.  We will have our new comprehensive rate package posted as well as any significant changes as soon as we receive them from FedEx.  We expect them after January 3^rd. 

FedEx has released a statement outlining the steps they are taking to help alleviate the backlog and delays in their system.  
Click Here for more information.

As is normally the case in December, weather can be an issue.  We recommend checking with FedEx for any Service Alerts that can affect shipping:  https://www.fedex.com/en-us/service-alerts.html.  These Service Alerts are issued daily and can be helpful in managing your expectations during inclement weather

As a reminder, for the Christmas Holiday Peak season, FedEx has suspended the Money Back Guarantee (MBG) for all accounts nationwide.  This will be in effect until January 16, 2022 or until otherwise stated.

As costs rise for our carriers, you will see surcharges rise as well across the board.  For those members wanting to reference the latest FedEx Surcharges and Fees click here (yellow link).  https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/current-rates/surcharges-and-fees.html#peak-surcharge .  We have also posted this information on our website CLICK HERE.  where members can find a handy summary of what to expect.  Remember, CalFlowers members have many significant discounts off of these surcharges which add excellent value to our program.  For a list our surcharge discounts, please refer to the FedEx Program Summary on our website

For qualifying members wanting to contact their local FedEx representative, feel free to contact me and I will put you in touch with the right person.  It’s always a good idea to establish a relationship with your local FedEx field representatives who can help out when you need them or have questions.  

To all our new members who are just starting with FedEx shipping, they have a nice “Customer Training” service that is available upon request.  This service offers shippers direct one-on-one assistance from FedEx covering many of the questions new shippers may have.  If you are interested in signing up, please contact Chris Johnson [email protected].  FedEx also has some excellent information for new shippers on their website.  Visit: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/get-started.html for a good summary of what FedEx offers

For members needing FedEx Tech Support, this phone number takes your right into the department (877) 339-2774.  They can help with many tech related issues including guidance regarding on-line shipping platforms.

We would also like to remind members to stay current with their FedEx Express shipping invoices. FedEx payment terms are 15 days.  All members shipping on FedEx Express are expected to stay within the FedEx payment terms.  To obtain your invoice details and payment options, please contact FedEx Customer Service.

Please note: GLS will be increasing their rates January 3^rd.  Our exclusive program pricing will be coming soon, and members can expect even more value coming in 2022.  Look for an email with all the details coming after the new year. 

Currently GLS is reporting record volumes during this peak holiday season.  Combine this with labor shortages causing operational challenges, on-time deliveries in some areas can be affected.

The good news here is that even though GLS has not officially re-instated their Money Back Guarantee (shipping costs), they HAVE amended that policy for CalFlowers members.  Our agreement with GLS now states that they will credit shipping costs to member shippers if the shipment is not delivered on the scheduled day of delivery.  Members will need to request this within 48 hours by contacting customer service by sending an email to: [email protected].  Include your account number, tracking number and explanation.  Let them know you are seeking shipping charges credited.

Regarding claims on product (inside the box), Generally speaking, GLS will entertain a claim if the box is missing / lost, or damage is present on the exterior of the package.  GLS will not generally process a claim simply if a box is delivered late.  For complete details, please visit www.gls-us.com

The CalFlowers GLS program is one of our fastest growing, most value-priced offerings, with discounts over 70% off standard rates.  GLS offers later pick-ups and earlier deliveries while providing express door-to-door services covering CA, AZ, NV, OR, WA, NM, UT, and ID.  Members who want to ship on GLS must sign up in advance. It’s easy and just takes a few minutes.  Please contact Chris Johnson for more details at (760) 533-5580 or [email protected].   

Please use the Delivery Rates & Times Calculator to view delivery dates and estimated.

Airlines: 

We have just learned that Michael Yu, our longtime Alaska Airlines Account Manager has accepted a new promotion within the company and will no longer be our Alaska contact.  He will certainly be missed.  However, we have new Account Manager in Mike Narowski.  Mike comes to us with a wide variety of air carrier experience and can be reached at [email protected] 

If you have been taking advantage of our new CalFlowers/Alaska Airlines shipping program, you know this offering really delivers when it comes to value.  Our program offers excellent pricing to many areas of the country from California, while adding a few new destinations such as Seattle, Portland, and Anchorage. Check out all the program details on our website.

As a reminder, JetBlue offers CalFlowers members exceptional express prices out of LAX / SFO to Boston, New York, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Puerto Rico and now NEWARK (EWR). 

These new rates are some of the best that we’ve see in some time.  For more information, please contact Chris Johnson at [email protected] or Mark Friedenthal at JetBlue Cargo (310) 490-2659.

NOTE: Transportation Rate information and documents are viewable/downloadable as PDFs on the CalFlowers Members Only site. Please note that these documents are considered sensitive material and are available to the primary contacts for Ag Buddy, Associate Floral, Associate Grower, and Floral members.

Welcome New CalFlowers Members

We are pleased to welcome the following new CalFlowers members from November18 through December 20, 2021:

www.cafgs.org 

Ph. 831-479-4912 | Fax 831-479-4914