Shaping the Future of the Horticulture Industry

The closure of stores to the public has completely brought florists' businesses to a standstill: to curb the spread of the virus, non-essential stores are no longer allowed to serve the public.

However, demand for flowers remains strong, particularly because people need to brighten up their daily lives by decorating their homes with flowers during the lockdown. Unfortunately, since florists are unable to open their shops, this demand is shifting to large retailers and online flower delivery services, posing a huge risk to local businesses.

Under these circumstances, and to prevent demand from benefiting only a small group of players, we believe it is possible to revive business while complying with public health measures by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the Internet. We are therefore driven by a strong conviction: online sales are an obvious solution to the inability to sell in stores. In fact, delivery to consumers is still permitted, provided strict hygiene rules are followed.

One platform for sourcing products, and one for selling your creations

The COVID-19 pandemic should not merely be viewed as an obstacle; it must serve as the foundation for a process of reflection that will enable us to transform the industry and devise new flower sales channels in France. To achieve this, all stakeholders in the industry—from growers to artisans and service providers—have a duty to work together to devise solutions that will help us emerge from the crisis.

Under these circumstances, Sessile, the collective of artisan florists, has taken a decision in the spirit of solidarity: to make access to its platform free for all artisan florists who wish to sell their arrangements online during the lockdown and beyond. We believe that competition from large retailers and online flower delivery services should not prevent florists from carrying out their work.

Since there is also an issue with inventory—as sourcing has become more difficult—we are launching a platform exclusively for artisan florists, allowing them to find producers in their region who are still operating and to place orders directly through this platform. Effective immediately, all flower growers who would like to sell their produce to independent florists can access our new platform free of charge and sell their products for the duration of the lockdown.

In the Face of This Challenge, Let’s Pool Our Goodwill

An exceptional situation calls for an exceptional response. And the only viable response in times of crisis is to establish new mechanisms for solidarity. We developed our new producer platform in 72 hours to address the challenges of the lockdown: that is why we are counting on you to help spread the word about our initiative to your partners and customers.

We therefore call on all those of good will to join us in our efforts to break this deadlock and limit the effects of the crisis. Only together will we succeed in overcoming it. If you are a florist looking to open your own shop, or a producer looking to set up your own space, please contact us at contact@sessile.fr.

Let's stick together!