Bill Schaffer AIFD, AAF, PFCI & Kristine Kratt AIFD, PFCI

Throughout 2018, we have been reporting on existing and emerging trends. Now that 2019 is almost here; companies, freelance forecasters and private prognosticators will be forecasting their Color-of-the-Year for 2019, the Textures-of-the-Year for 2019, the Patterns-of-the-Year for 2019, the Sustainable-Product-of-the-Year for 2019 and more. Does this mean that everything you became aware of in 2018 should be forgotten … discarded? NO!

2018 was filled with trends that connected the floral world to cultural consumer shifts around the globe. As the relevance of the Iberian Penninsula connected colors, textiles and textures in the U.S. and world markets so did the story of the individual flower touch consumers everywhere. Transparency and Sustainability: Causality and Color: The Human Touch and Hyper Tech Awareness all tell the stories of the flowers that we consume.

Where did the flower come from? Who picked the flower? How do the flowers benefit the communities they came from? This trend is not new, but its growing awareness among consumers has turned this movement into a macro trend. It is this Macro concept that moves trends in and out throughout an entire nation and regional and local purchases. TRENDWATCH: What we need to be aware of is ‘How does a consumer feel?’. This is not changing for 2019; it is only deepening through social and political awareness.

2018 has been in the middle of the ‘human shift’ within the floral industry. Who are your employees, where are they coming from, do they have floral experience, what floral education level do they have, what is their continued floral education needs and demands, and furthermore; can you provide them? It is the answer to these questions that allow for knowledgeable employees to better service your customers. It is this personal touch that the 2018 consumer has been looking for and the 2019 consumer will demand.

2018 has seen social media advance awareness of floral styles. Garden stylings, textural components, and a Royal wedding all have affected how consumers perceive floral value and connect to their personal aesthetics. Personal choices in flora and fauna in 2018 have grown ever-stronger in the ‘Living’ trend. Green, green, green … it is much easier ‘being green’ today than ever before. From Kinder Care ages to Millennials through to Boomers our green thumbs have offered a world of responsibility … well, not too much responsibility is what this trend in 2018 has been all about. This trend will only get stronger in 2019.

Last, but not least, color! As of this writing Pantone has yet to release its much-vaunted, Color-of-the-Year for 2019. Pantone itself advocates that it is not forecasting the colors but reporting on the world around us. All of its colors over the past few years are still in the trend mixes today and tomorrow with hue changes and tonal redefinitions. That does not stop paint companies from forecasting what their consumers want for 2019. Not only want , but will paint their walls, doors, cabinetry and more. These are colors that some of the biggest color companies in the world believe that their consumer wants to wrap themselves in by living with these colors everyday.

  • Behr Paint: Blueprint: a dark, rich complex true-blue hue
  • Benjamin Moore: Metropolitan: neutral, comforting, contemplative and calming gray
  • Clark + Kensington: Pineapple Cream Granita: a light and airy yellow
  • Dunn Edwards: Spice of Life: a dark, browned, fire brick red with orange undertones
  • Dutch Boy: Garden Patch: an optimistic, happier rich green seeking greater peace and celebrating diversity
  • PPG: Night Watch: a restorative, rich, luxurious, and classic shade of deep, rich green
  • Sherwin Williams: Cavern Clay: a warm terracotta color with ancient, elemental roots

Awareness more than anything else is the trend for 2019. Awareness of our cultures, our environment, and the people around us. Listen. Watch. Learn. Do.

Originally published in the March 2018 Issue of Super Floral Magazine

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