Nordic Flower Expo 2.0: more than just a trade fair

    Nordic Flower Expo 2.0 organizes a wide range of extra activities in addition to the usual function of a tradeshow. The organisers do not only want to facilitate suppliers to meet buyers but also want to be a platform for florists, traders and buyers within the flower and plant industry to get inspired and to meet eachother.

    In order to do so, there will be inspiration for florists at the FlowerSensation pavilion and workshops will be organized by a teammember of Per Benjamin. Next to that there is an extensive seminar program including Swedish and Dutch speakers like Måster Grön, Solgården, Into Green (VGB) and the Flowercouncil of Holland.

    The fair takes place from 21-23 to March in the MalmöMassan in Malmo, Sweden.

    Floral demos pavilion
    In close cooperation with Nicolette Hooyman of FlowerSense, unique and special products will be available to the florist. In the FlowerSensation pavilion, the arranger will demonstrate in the middle of a lush presentation and selects on spot the flowers that he wants to use at that time and tells why he chooses a particular product. The flowers are arranged in a presentation like you would find in a florist shop. This makes it very accessible for the visitor to see the flowers up close and admire them. Next to growers, suppliers of design pots and vases will be presenting their products.

    Practical workshops
    During the fair, workshops will be organised by the team of Per Benjamin, Sara-Lisa Ludvigsson, Tina Kjaer from Denemarken and Regine Motmans of FleurCréatif – Fleuramour
    . Thuesday the 21st of March two workshops will be organised by the team of Benjamin Botaniska Floristik Coaching. The workshops are practical but there is also room for theoretical topics like how to improve your sales.

    Sharing knowledge
    To not only inspire florists but also other players in the supply chain, an extensive seminar program is set up with leading speakers such as Håkan Wallin of Solgården on the subject ‘How to inspire Next Generation (s)’, Hanna Wihlborg Orevads of Handelsträdgård will treat ‘In the head of an entrepreneur’, Marc Eijsackers of the Flowercouncil of Holland will talk about the Consumer Segmentation (focused on the Swedish market) plus the use of social media within the sector. Patrik Vilsmyr of Mäster Grön will speak about ‘How to increase sales with awards’. Besides them, Robert Roodenburg of the VGB will explain the project of Into Green and Eva Dahlqvist will talk about sustainability.

    Why an expo in the Nordics?
    Several participants of edition 2015 indicated having met up with ‘high quality’ contacts and see the potential of a regional platform

    The Nordic region (Scandinavia & Baltic states) count +/- 15 million inhabitants

    The Scandinavian countries have the highest GDP in Europe

    A strong growth of the Swedish economy: 4.1% in 2015 and an expected growth of 2.9% in 2016 (source: Financieel Dagblad), stable growth in the other Scandinavian countries, good prospect for economic growth in the Baltic States

    Strong growing demand for flowers in Sweden: 9,8% in 2015 and 6.0% from January-July 2016 (source: VGB).

    High floriculture consumption and intense market competition.

    In the past 5 years the export of flowers & plants from only the Netherlands to the Nordics has increased with > 40%.