November 8-10, Vijfhuizen
NL: IFTF wants florists to attend
IFTF already proved to be a professional trade exhibition with more than 25,000 visitors from over 100 different countries. This year the size of the venue has increased from 13,000 m2 to 25,000 m2. The building that looks like a huge greenhouse is the perfect place to host one of the, or maybe even the biggest and most important fresh flower trade fairs in the world. The abundant daylight that comes into the halls is one of the most striking features of the venue and brings out the best of all the displayed floriculture products.
It was precisely for this reason that the hall was completely designed with glass for the Floriade back in 2002! About 275 exhibitors from Holland and abroad will this year fill the 4 exhibitions halls. The biggest number of exhibiting flower growers come from Kenya, Colombia, Ethiopia and Ecuador at this year’s edition of IFTF.
Main goal
IFTF Expo was able to grow big in a relatively short time simply because it kept tied to its core business, says Dick van Raamsdonk. ”The IFTF is principally set up for growers and buyers, so producers meeting traders of flowers. This basic exhibitor and visitor profile has to be clear and the reason why we don’t really work with themes. It would just distract too much. The most important guideline we follow is listening to our clients and implementing that, whatever they say is important, so they can show their best products in the best circumstances. They must rely and count on a big number of quality flower buyers. That is our focus and commitment”.
Florists
Attracting florists became a real point of attention a couple of years ago and as a result integration of this important part of the floriculture chain became an important focus in the international promotion campaign of the fair. It worked and the number of florists attending IFTF increased and is steadily increasing since. The event “World of Flowers” that takes place during IFTF is also growing and attracting more retailers and florists every year from inside, but especially from outside the Netherlands.
Flower design competitions and demonstrations have been implemented gradually as part of the side events that IFTF incorporates. Several international renowned flower designers will for example battle for the famous “Wim Hazelaar Trophy” during the 3 day trade fair. In this way the fair builds towards an event that becomes a must for florists to attend.
For more information:
Floriculture and Horticulture Trade Fair (IFTF)
www.hppexhibitions.com