Often, consumers freely admit that they lack a “green thumb” to properly care for any fresh flowers or potted plants. It’s just not in their skill set. Or they may travel frequently on business and aren’t around enough – either at home or the office – to attend to fresh flora. Sometimes too, consumers just desire to gaze at pretty flora without the hassles of caring for fresh blooms.
Well, a superb solution is a bouquet or decorative arrangement of “dried flowers.” Flora choices might include Goldenrod, Lavender, Hydrangea, Larkspur, Baby’s Breath, Roses, Eucalyptus, and many other flowers or herbs. Increasingly, consumers love purchasing dried flowers, both as gifts and to splurge for themselves. Dried flora are colorful, pretty, and decorative, but best of all, they last longer than fresh flowers and are a breeze to maintain.
“To assist our flower and grocery clients, who, in turn, provide these lovely, dried flowers to their customers, we take pride in providing expert advice and careful shipping and handling services in several different ways,” explains Prime Fresh Handling’s West Coast General Manager Cristina Moscoso in Los Angeles. “First, we ship fresh flowers via Prime Fresh Handling, our perishables group with expertise in assuring they arrive on time and in good condition.”
In fact, the International Air Cargo Association (IATA) reports than 80,000 fresh flowers are shipped by air every 24 hours. Many are shipped via Prime Fresh Handling, particularly for shipments from the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
“Once the fresh flowers are received by our florist and wholesale clients, then they’ll either sell them to their customers as fresh flowers, or alternatively arrange for them to be dried,” Moscoso notes. The result is a lovely dried floral bouquet for a vase or perhaps for a flat table or wall arrangement.
Methods of drying vary widely with processes segmented as press drying, embedded drying, oven drying, glycerin drying, or freeze drying. The goal is to maintain quality and appearance. But whatever the drying methodology, “clients then either sell the dried flowers locally or turn them back to us for careful transport to a final destination across the globe,” Moscoso emphasizes.
With U.S. offices in Miami, New York and Los Angeles, and international offices in Bogota, Colombia; Quito, Ecuador; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Prime Fresh Handling along with sister brand, Prime Logistics, can streamline, optimize, and expedite cargo to and from the U.S. by capitalizing on long-time relationships with major air carriers and ocean lines. Simply put, having professional expertise in shipping and handling dried flowers is essential.
“While they last longer than fresh blooms, they’re exceptionally delicate,” says Moscoso. Specialized boxing and tie-downs placed in just the right position are among the measures required to keep fragile dried flowers immobile, and at the same time, not crush the petals, stems, or blooms.
Trending upward in sales, the global dried flowers market size is expected to register a significant compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between now and 2027, according to new research by the Research Corridor.
“So, as you grow your business, if you’re moving into dried flowers, or you’re increasing production for that segment, let’s talk,” says Moscoso. Bottom line? “We can help in shipping and handling with competitive rates and expertise that assures top care for your precious blooms – whether fresh or dried.”
Global Services
Whether it’s a box, a pallet, or a companywide logistics operation, PFH is skilled in achieving safe on-time delivery of time- and temperature-sensitive material and products between any point of origin and destination around the globe.
In fact, PFH is also known as a global leader in perishables transportation of fresh produce, fish, cut flowers, and plants. With state-of-the-art facilities in Europe, South American, and across North America, PFH leverages industry-leading technologies such as vacuum cooling, sorting, re-packing, bar coding, labeling, and temperature monitoring to guarantee a consistent, safe, and fresh delivery.
Contact Prime Fresh Handling
For information, contact PFH General Manager, West Coast: Cristina Moscoso at 323-328-8650, via email at cmoscoso@prime-fresh.com, or visit www.prime-fresh.com.
