One of the first things that comes to mind when we hear “I work in the flower industry you assume they are a florist. We love the beautiful colors and pleasant smells in a flower shop, and being a florist is an amazing career- but there’s more to the flower industry. This article will review the floral industry career opportunities, and you’ll notice how the picture is broader than one may think! You may even find your next career path and jump into the flower industry. Let’s begin.
Flower Industry Jobs That Are Not Being a Florist
1) Wholesale Floral Manager and Operations Officers
A floral manager ensures the quality of the floral product and maximizes the budget. This employee is usually responsible for:
- Sourcing, selecting and purchasing products at the most favourable price and quality
- Maintaining inventory levels and reviewing the stock
- Negotiating prices, discounts & payment terms
- Monitoring and researching the prices to anticipate customers’ behaviour
- Forecasting future product purchases based on sales reports
- Inspecting products for quality and value and returning them if damaged
- Supervising and leading salespeople
- Building customer loyalty and brand awareness
2) Flower Sales Executive
A flower sales executive is responsible for selling flowers to wholesalers, florists, flower farms, and other businesses. In a way, they’re the heart of the flower industry. Therefore, the perfect candidate is good at communicating and maintaining professional, warm relationships with clients.
A flower sales executive is also responsible for promoting new products and sharing information about them. It’s a floral expert that ensures reliable knowledge and auxiliary services to meet customer needs.
They are responsible for
- Placing orders for customer
- Coordinating logistics
- Replying to emails
- Entering Credits
- Prospecting for new customers
- Creating marketing materials
- Support team
- Customer Service
- Flower knowledge
- And more
This job position could be a great fit if you enjoy talking with people, negotiating, and spreading the word about flowers!
3) Flower Packager and Shipper
A flower packager is responsible for ensuring flower quality, presentation, and cold chain transportation. The best way to transport and take care of the flowers is by keeping them cool, so much so that some people argue the cold chain is the most important aspect of floral management. A packager takes care of the logistical aspects of the floral industry. Although it doesn’t sound as exciting as other roles, it’s still vital to ensure the quality and preservation of the product.
4) Wholesale Flower Buyer
Wholesale flower buyers receive orders from local florists for flowers and supplies like containers and foam. Once they receive an order, they work with growers and flower sales executives to meet the customer’s needs as quickly as possible.
A wholesale buyer is responsible for:
- Receiving orders from local florists and stores
- Understanding inventory control
- Having an extensive flower knowledge to meet customers’ needs
- Building relationships with flower growers and representatives
- Negotiating prices
- Keeping an eye on the market to adjust supply and demand
- And more
If you find this job position attractive, keep in mind that you must keep up with the market. You need to be an expert in weather-related problems that affect flower growth in certain seasons and regions, supply and demand challenges, what holidays boost sales and what holidays decrease them, etc.
5) Supermarkets Flowers Buyers
Supermarkets frequently have a floral section where you can buy flower arrangements, pots, and other supplies. A supermarket flower will perform the same activities and responsibilities as a wholesale buyer, but the context is different. Instead of buying and preparing flowers for florists and tiny stores, they make the inventory and keep an eye on trends to satisfy supermarkets’ customers. Consumer behaviour changes along with the context, so it’s important to make data-driven and insightful decisions.
6) Bouquets Designer for Farms, Supermarkets, and Distributors
Flower bouquets are present on many occasions, whether a wedding, a funeral, graduation, a first date, etc. If you have an eye for design, this might be the perfect fit for you!
You’ll be responsible for:
- Designing flower bouquets and samples for buyers
- Predicting trends
- Playing around with colors and flower distribution
- Finding innovative ways to use flowers artistically
- Understand the cost behind the bouquets
Whatever path you choose in the floral industry, you will be connected to creativity in some way. You should consider that each business has its own needs, meaning you can design more flamboyant designs for a local store than for a supermarket or you can sell flowers to florist or to wholesalers.
This list should have given you some insight into the floral industry. Not every job entails working in a local store and selling beautiful bouquets to your neighbours. Some of these job positions require travel and or working in 35% coolers. In order to be successful at what you do, it helps if you fall in love with it first, which you may do in the flower industry…
We at Pollen Talent “help pollinate success,” so if you own a floral business and are looking for top floral talent, contact us and we will help you connect.
