ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF) received a $600,000 donation from the Flower Promotion Organization (FPO) to fund cut flower marketing and research to help increase the consumption of cut flowers in all retail channels. These efforts will benefit all members of the cut flower community, from growers to consumers and everyone in between.
"The Floral Marketing Research Fund is honored to receive this generous donation from the Flower Promotion Organization for research benefiting such a large portion of the industry," Paul Bachman, president of both the FMRF and Bachman's, Inc., said. "Discussions are already taking place about the expansive cut flower research projects that could be funded through this donation."
“Through the efforts of the FPO, the industry has learned a lot about what drives consumer purchases, the benefits of flowers on people’s lives and lifestyles and effective ways to deliver our messages,” Augusto Solano, president of Asocolflores and co-chairman of the FPO, said in a release by the FPO. “However, we’ve also learned that the cut flower industry is not yet ready to work collectively towards achieving a sustainable industry-wide funding and marketing effort, so the FPO Board has decided to work through other floral organizations to help expand their marketing and research activities.”
The FPO is an alliance of Colombian and U.S. cut flower growers and a 501c6 organization that has nearly 15 years of experience with direct consumer marketing, funding industry efforts and helping to educate consumers about the positive benefits cut flowers can provide.
The FMRF's most recent project conducted in conjunction with the FPO resulted in the free Social Media Guide for Floral Retailers and Wholesalers. This guide, along with previous project reports from the consumer preference study conducted in 2010, is available to the industry free of charge at www.floralmarketingresearchfund.org.
About FMRF
The Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF) was established in 2008 by the AFE Trustees to fund consumer research projects for the advancement of the floriculture industry. Create an account at www.floralmarketingresearchfund.org to receive the latest news and research reports.
Source: The Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF)