Kitayama Bros. Inc. in Watsonville, CA, announced on its company website that it has diversified into selling directly to mass merchandisers.

“For most of our history we have relied on wholesale florists as our main market,” Robert Kitayama, chief executive officer and president of the company, said in a statement on the website. “We still hold a large percentage and have great relationships with the leading wholesale florists in the U.S., but in order to increase our flower production we had to be able to increase our customer base.”

While Administrative Professionals Day is not classified as a public holiday, there are 4 million administrative professionals in the United States alone, with a projected growth rate of 16 percent over the next eight years. As we in the floral industry are striving to add incremental sales growth to our organizations, Administrative Professionals Day may just be a sleeping giant.

The World Floral Expo in Chicago continues to gain momentum with over 80 exhibitors representing more than 12 countries registered at last count.

The three-day international trade event will be held March 26-28 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, with 27,500 square feet of exhibit area just a few minutes from O’Hare International Airport. Flower design demonstrations by six master floral designers from Holland, a panel discussion about changing fresh flower distribution channels and tours of the Chicago Perishable Center will be featured.

The Agricultural Act of 2014, the farm bill, will affect the nation’s Christmas tree growers in addition to other floriculture programs.

After several years of research and development, GPW Direct Consumer LLC in St. Cloud, MN, has introduced Blooming Greetings, a combination greeting card-flower vase that assembles from a flat pack retail package into a bouquet vase and greeting card wrapped into one.

According to Corey DeVille, Midwest regional sales manager for Blooming Greetings, the company has received an enthusiastic response from several supermarket chains, including SpartanNash in Grand Rapids, MI. DeVille was interviewed last month at a SpartanNash tradeshow in Minneapolis.

Tedeshci Food Shops in Rockland, MA, rolled out a new floral program in all its stores right before Valentine’s Day, according to a company press release.

Established in 1923, Tedeschi is a New England family-owned-and-operated convenience store chain, with more than $600 million in annual revenue. The company operates 191 convenience store locations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.