Red roses on Valentine's Day: Is that a thing of the past?
Valentine’s Day was in full swing on February 14, and as is the case every year, many couples chose togive each other flowers. With one small difference: according to an analysis of orders placed on the Sessile.fr website, many consumers chose to skip the roses in favor of bouquets of seasonal flowers. This choice reflects new trends in flower consumption.
The red rose for Valentine’s Day is a given: reputed to symbolize burning passion, it has established itself as the quintessential flower of love. The red rose, however, reveals a less inspiring reality of the flower market. A true marketing product invented by Dutch growers because it is easy to produce and package, the red rose is a testament to the globalization of the flower market.
It is estimated that roses are ten times more in demand on Valentine’s Day than on any other day of the year. Indeed, Valentine’s Day is one of the few events that takes place on the same day all over the world, which causes demand for red roses to surge very rapidly within a very short period of time.
Find My Valentine's Day Bouquet
However, the rose is a spring flower and is therefore not in season around Valentine’s Day in much of the world. This phenomenon has two consequences. On the one hand, Dutch growers cultivate roses in greenhouses to recreate the warmth and light characteristic of spring, which results in significant energy consumption—a practice that is difficult to reconcile with society’s new aspirations for energy efficiency.
Red rose production is heavily outsourced
In addition, Dutch producers have largely shifted rose production to countries with favorable climatic conditions, particularly in Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia) and South America (Ecuador, Colombia). According to data from FranceAgriMer, it is currently estimated that 87% of the red roses sold in France come from the Netherlands and 11% from Ethiopia.
The production of these flowers on the other side of the world has two notable consequences. On the one hand, it fuels a race to the bottom in labor standards, as workers on these farms often do not have the same protections as European workers. On the other hand, there is a race to the bottom on environmental standards, as these offshoring practices are intended to circumvent European regulations on pesticides and result in logistics operations that generate high levels of CO2 emissions. For example, traces of pesticides are frequently found on the hands and in the urine of florists who handle these imported flowers on a daily basis.
When consumers are given a choice, they prefer seasonal flowers
The consumption of red roses is encouraged by flower delivery platforms, which impose catalogs on florists. The first bouquets displayed on these platforms consist mainly of red roses. However, since florists are still heavily dependent on these platforms for their online sales, they are forced to give red roses prominent placement on their displays.
On Sessile.fr, Valentine’s Day 2023 proved to be highly informative regarding new trends in flower consumption: while red roses were available in florists’ online shops, it was the Valentine’s Day-themed bouquets—composed of seasonal flowers by the collective’s artisan florists—that won over consumers.
There are two possible explanations for these results. First, it appears that demand has shifted toward seasonal flowers: many industry players, including Sessile.fr, are encouraging users to choose seasonal flowers whenever possible, including on Valentine’s Day. To express their love, many users opted for ranunculus or anemones, two varieties that are both in season and grown in France.
Furthermore, a single-stem bouquet of red roses requires less work to arrange, which does not do justice to the florists’ craftsmanship. That is why 80% of customers on Sessile.fr have opted for custom floral arrangements, which better reflect the florists’ expertise and creativity. With this in mind, Sessile.fr—a collective of independent online florists—is breaking away from the traditional catalog model, allowing florists to showcase local and seasonal flowers through authentic, personalized arrangements that express their passion for the art of floristry.
It is for this reason—because florists still account for 50% of the cut flower distribution in France—that Sessile.fr will be able to reorganize and expand the production of French flowers to support a healthier industry.
Who are we?
Sessile champions the independence of artisan florists online. Founded in 2019 by six friends, Sessile brings together 500 florists committed to transforming the industry and offers flower delivery throughout France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. By breaking away from the traditional online catalog model, the network highlights each florist’s expertise and helps keep the art of floristry alive. Florists can pursue their passion and create more creative bouquets because they have greater freedom to offer seasonal flowers and, whenever possible, locally sourced flowers.
