Post-Show Report of the 26th China International Flower and Garden Expo
As one of the largest, most renowned, and trade-effective professional trade shows in the Asian horticultural industry, this exhibition showcased new varieties, technologies, and concepts of the current flower industry. Compared to the previous edition, it achieved significant improvements in exhibition scale, the number of exhibitors, visitor count, and promotional impact. This not only reflects the urgent need for companies to “step out” in response to market competition pressures but also indicates the industry’s urgent search for new breakthroughs in industrial transformation and brand upgrading.
The exhibition covered an area of nearly 50,000 square meters, attracting more than 700 exhibitors from over 20 countries and regions including China, the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, India, Italy, Sri Lanka, Spain, Poland, the United States, Israel, Belarus, and Japan, with a viewership exceeding 80,000 visits.
I. Three Major Highlights: New variety display, multi-channel linkage, and the joining of top international floral designers.
1. New varieties, the “catalyst” for industry development: The exhibition presented over 1,000 new and superior flower varieties, especially the nearly 400 new varieties of fresh flowers, potted flowers, and garden plants in the new variety display area, providing a rich selection opportunity for producers and retailers, and also attracting the attention of a large number of flower enthusiasts. New varieties played a significant display and leading role not only in indoor and outdoor markets but also in e-commerce sales. Among them, nearly 200 new varieties of fresh flowers and a variety of new potted and garden plant varieties, such as orchids, anthuriums, and bromeliads, captivated numerous fresh flower wholesalers and florists with their unique charm.
2. New Channels, Embracing Online “New Play”: This exhibition successfully expanded its online sales channels and unlocked the online traffic code for the exhibition by cooperating with e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, Tmall, JD.com, Douyin, Meituan, etc., and deeply participating in Xiaohongshu. During the exhibition, Xiaohongshu released a large number of related topics, attracting many internet celebrities and bloggers to participate, and brought significant exposure to exhibitors through various interactive activities. The exhibition carried out all-round publicity through self-operated and cooperative social media accounts, video numbers, portal websites, etc., and established deep cooperative relations with mainstream media in the industry and many audience media, effectively enhancing the visibility and influence of the exhibition.
3. High-profile Guests, Floral Masters Igniting the Audience: The floral performance at this exhibition was led by Gregor Lersch, known as the “Father of Floral Construction,” and brought together 14 top floral designers from China, Germany, and South Korea, showcasing the essence of Chinese and Western floral arts and providing the audience with a two-and-a-half-day audio-visual feast. The performance team included several international award winners and floral masters with global influence, such as the German national treasure floral designer Gregor Lersch and the Asian Cup Floral Design Champion Lin Huili, whose participation greatly enhanced the international level and professional influence of the exhibition.
II. Overview of the Exhibition: International Exhibitors Return, Exhibition Scale Soars
The scale of this exhibition is nearly 50,000 square meters, with more than 700 exhibitors participating, showing a significant increase in exhibition size and the number of exhibitors compared to previous editions. Domestic exhibitors are mainly concentrated in Beijing, Shandong, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Hebei, and other places, where the main production bases for domestic flowers and plants, greenhouse equipment manufacturers, and material producers are gathered. It is particularly worth noting that the number of enterprises participating from the Yunnan region has increased in this exhibition, mainly focusing on the fields of flower seedlings, potted flowers, fresh-cut flowers, dried everlasting flowers, and plant medicines.
From the perspective of overseas exhibitors, the exhibition has attracted international exhibitors from more than 20 countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, India, Italy, Sri Lanka, Spain, Poland, the United States, Israel, Belarus, and Japan, with a significant increase in the number of participating countries and exhibitors. Notably, the Dutch delegation and the IPM International delegation participated in the form of a group. The area of this Dutch delegation reached a historical high, with 38 companies occupying 1,026 square meters within the group area, and an overflow of 5 companies. The IPM International delegation gathered 17 companies, totaling 342 square meters.
The range of exhibits on site covers fresh-cut flowers, potted flowers, seeds, bulbs, seedlings, garden plants, ornamental saplings, biotechnology, engineering design and construction, floral materials, home gardening materials, garden equipment, production materials, fresh flower preservation, greenhouse environmental control and logistics systems, chemical agents, and production supplies, as well as related and supporting products in the industry.
The number of exhibitors in the category of flower and plant species has increased, with producers exerting efforts in different directions in terms of scale and variety. Large-scale production enterprises actively expand their product sales channels, using the exhibition as a platform to maintain old customers, find new customers, and establish and promote their brands; small production farms are mostly sellers of popular or specialty varieties, using the exhibition as a platform for variety and product promotion, seeking cooperation with e-commerce and specialty plant shops, mainly serving niche markets.
III. Forum Activities: Closely Following Industry Hotspots, Analyzing Topics from Multiple Angles
In terms of concurrent forums, the 2024 Beijing International Flower Exhibition continues to focus on industry trends, targeting hot topics in industry trends, cutting-edge technology, cross-border marketing, etc., bringing new concepts, new trends, and new products to practitioners. In terms of industry development, the “2023 International Flower Industry Statistical Analysis Report” will be released on-site by the China Flower Association, which organizes and compiles data on the development trends of the flower industry at home and abroad.
Regarding industry dynamics, forum content is set to meet the different needs of online and offline. Faced with new sales channels such as e-commerce, live broadcasting, and short videos, the exhibition organized an e-commerce sharing session, inviting operation managers from the flower and gardening sections of Douyin, Taobao, Xiaohongshu, JD.com, and Meituan to share the operation methods of various e-commerce platforms. They will discuss from the perspectives of platform data, push algorithms, how to attract traffic and convert, unlocking the “operation secrets” for merchants. Additionally, Kunming Yunxuan Flowers and the flower shop marketing expert “Flower Brother” were invited to share insights on flower logistics and flower shop marketing, exploring how to reconstruct the distribution chain of fresh flower and gardening products.
In terms of industry technology, the Sino-Dutch Horticulture Forum and the Greenhouse Forum focus on production issues, offering solutions for environmental control, precision production, and improving the quality of flowers from the perspectives of facilities, technology, and products. Professors from Wageningen University in the Netherlands and HAS University of Applied Sciences, as well as representatives from greenhouse design and construction companies and greenhouse facility enterprises, participate in the sharing. In addition, the 18th Anniversary Knowledge Sharing Forum of Priva China is also held concurrently. Furthermore, KRONEN Group and Israel Chemicals have organized related technology and product exchange sessions.
In the activity display area, continuing the theme of garden living, there are low-maintenance gardens, balcony kitchen gardens, flowery gardens, and study gardens that form the Tao Tian Fresh Flower Gardening & International Flower Exhibition Leisure Living Garden Display Area. Additionally, there are flower border display areas themed with colorful flower and plant horticultural experience zones, “Fan Sheng,” “Liu Guang,” and “Carbon” Cycle Flower World, where visitors can experience the flowery life up close and have an intimate connection with nature at the exhibition site.
