10123448The Flower Grower CollectiveClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKA group of UK flower farmers (The Flower Grower Collective Ltd) together with research partners from Surrey and Coventry Universities, a user experience researcher, and a project manager, aim to trial early-stage solutions to research the potential of an easy-to-use online platform where UK flower growers can showcase their flowers and foliage to florists local to them to purchase wholesale. We will be expanding to nationwide representation but the flowers will always stay within a local short supply chain. This on-line B2B sales platform will address the existing challenge of fragmented sales channels for British flowers, connecting growers with florists and reducing the administrative burden for both growers and florists. It will allow top quality, fresh, sustainably grown flowers to reach a wide base of UK consumers via wholesale to florists. FGC will roll out regional wholesale hubs across the UK in a 2-phase pilot starting in October 2024\. Funding will enable a trial pilot of 5 hubs in 2025, which will be expanded to 10 hubs in 2026\. Research shows that flower imports and greenhouse heated flower production systems have very high carbon footprints and negative impacts in terms of agrochemical pollution. Seasonal, agroecological UK flowers negate these impacts. Consumer awareness of the negative impacts of large scale commercial flower production is growing and demand for low impact products is increasing rapidly. There is demand for high quality, sustainable, British grown flowers. Depending on the crop, floriculture can fit into horticulture, agriculture or agroforestry. There is scope for expansion to many hectares of flower and foliage farming across the UK once routes to market are reliable. The aim of this project is to unlock the challenges hindering a clear route to market for sustainable cut flower growers in the UK. Live monitoring and evaluation of the 2024 and 2025 pilots will enable the concept to be tested and refined with a focus upon logistics and supply and demand management. Market and user research will facilitate process and platform improvements ahead of roll out across the UK. In the longer term this will help build a richer data picture of the UK sustainably grown flower sector, where current data sources are limited.