The UK Market

The UK fresh cut flower and indoor plant market is worth £2.2 billion at retail level. To put this in perspective, the UK music industry is worth around £2 billion.

This represents an average spend per person per year of £36 (£28 on flowers and £8 on plants).

While this is a good increase from the 1984 value of £8 per person, it still comes nowhere near the rest of Europe, where people regularly spend £60-£100 per year on cut flowers and indoor plants.

In the UK we spend £9 on cut flowers for every £1 we spend on indoor plants. This may be because most people in the UK have gardens and so spend more on outdoor plants; or it may be because the British like to hang on to their houseplants when they are past their best, instead of treating them as a disposable item to be enjoyed and then discarded, like fresh flowers.

Around 60% of the £2.2 billion spent represents people buying flowers and plants for themselves, for their own homes. Even five years ago, most people in the UK only bought flowers for special occasions like weddings and anniversaries, and may have bought a pot plant when visiting someone. Now, we all realise the beauty of having fresh flowers and plants around our homes, workplaces and public places. Why should they be saved for special occasions only?

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