In January 2021, one of Sweden's largest food retailers, Dagab, introduced their own bouquet brand "Blom & blad" and they are very pleased with the turnout. "Easter 2021 has been a very good holiday, even better than 2020 and 2019," says Dagab's Henrik Astrom. The demand for flowers increased across the board, but also the sales of outdoor plants have gone up. "We are now taking everything from a consumer perspective and this approach is paying off."
Flower bouquet example of Blom & blad
Own brand
For several years now, Dagab is investing in their floral department. Over the years, they have put more effort in the creation of their bouquets. They started with taking more control over the design of the bouquets and in January they even launched their own brand named Blom & blad. "The bouquets in this brand are more exclusive and more florist-like. When designing the bouquets, we try to look at it from a consumer's perspective," Asrom explains.
Quickly accepted - demand up
The new brand seem to have been accepted very well by the consumers as sales increased when comparing to 2020 and 2019. "The Blom & blad bouquets are a bit more expensive, but the consumers seem to be willing to spend a little more for a better looking product. Of course, not only the looks but also the quality of the product is playing an important role," he adds.
More flower bouquets of Blom & blad
Fresh flowers every day
Part of the success is the freshness of their products. Over the years, Dagab has invested in the improvement of the logistics chain to enable stores to always have fresh flowers and plants in the shelves. "Instead of three or four times a week, stores now have the possibility to receive fresh flowers every day. In turn, we have seen that the orders are decreasing in size, but are placed on a more frequent basis. And this improvement seems to be noticed by the final consumer as well. With this approach, I think we have created more trust among the consumers." Also this year, with the shortages and COVID-19 situation, Astrom is proud of all links in the chain that enabled them to deliver the products to the stores on time.
Easter products: Demand surpassing supply
The demand has been high this year and even surpassed the supply. This is partly due to the shortage of some typical Easter products, which was the main challenge this year. "For Easter, many growers produced only what has been ordered - to avoid risks. So, for tulips, narcissus and pot narcissus, we were a little short this year."
High demand for cut flowers and outdoor plants
The demand for cut flowers and outdoor plants has been extremely high this year. "The sales of floral Easter products may have decreased due to shortages, but the sales of flowering indoor plants dropped due to a decrease in demand. All in all, we have seen that the consumer is consumers are prefer to brighten up their homes and gardens with flowers and outdoor plants nowadays."
Consumer buying pattern
Even though all shops remained open during the pandemic, unlike many other European countries, Astrom may have seen a change in buying behavior of the consumer. "Visiting of elderly and gatherings are not advised, and working from home and social distancing are recommended. Therefore, more people stayed at home and started to do most of their shopping, including flower and plant purchases at the supermarket. Since the pandemic, our sales have increased and I think it is a combination these factors as well as our investments in the improvement of the looks and quality of our products. I think we have created trust and I expect people will continue buying flowers and plants in the supermarkets in the future."
For more information:
Dagab, the purchaseorganization of Axfood
Henrik Astrom
+ 46 42 295408
Email: [email protected]
www.axfood.se