On Halloween all the big box stores shoved aside the skeletons and rolled out aisles of mass market wreaths and garlands. It can make even the most seasoned florist wonder: how can my handmade work compete with this?? The answer is powerfully simple: don’t ever compete on price. Instead, leverage your product quality, storytelling, and customer experience.
As always, lead with “buy local, buy fresh”. Box-store greens are often cut weeks (sometimes months) before they reach the shelves. By contrast, your greens are harvested fresh, hydrated properly, and crafted by hand — make sure your customers know that!
- Tell your customers when and where your greens were harvested: “Cut fresh this week from local farms” or “Crafted with regional evergreens for long-lasting beauty.” Highlight your direct connection with local growers and PFG.
- Educate them that truly fresh greens not only smell incredible but last longer and shed less. It might be obvious to us, but most customers don’t realize box store evergreens are not fresh and are frequently unsustainable.
Next, make sure to offer customization and a personal touch. Your greatest advantage over box stores is your artistry. Their wreaths are identical; yours tell a story.
- Offer simple personalization options: ribbon color and other accent choices or special add-ons like dried fruit, feathers, or berries.
- Create a “Build Your Own Bar” — have premade plain wreaths or garlands at the ready and then let customers pick their favorite accents to add on their own or with your assistance.
- Use signage or social captions that reinforce your craft: “No two wreaths alike — made by hand, not by machine.”
Make sure to highlight design and craftmanship. Just like any floral creation, you want to make your wreaths and other evergreen pieces reflect to your signature look.
- Play with asymmetry, texture, and striking layering — think long cedar trailing from a tight fir base, or magnolia leaves tucked beside juniper.
- Add elements box stores would never think of: eucalyptus, dried flowers, ornamental grasses, or mosses.
- Photograph and video your process! Customers love seeing the human hands, scissors, and all the sap that go into every design. Showing them the work that goes behind the design helps them understand the value of your pieces.
Don’t forget to emphasize sustainability. Modern shoppers crave authenticity and ethics — two things mass production can’t offer.
- Highlight that your materials are locally and sustainably harvested, with no plastic, glitter, or foam.
- Offer a Wreath Take-Back Program in January so customers can return frames for reuse next season. Maybe even offer a small coupon for next year’s wreath so they have an incentive to return to you for their holiday decor.
- Talk about your environmental impact: “Each wreath supports local growers and keeps waste out of the landfill.”
- Consider using a grapevine wreath base and jute twine instead of wire for a “fully compostable” wreath. You could even promote a “wildlife friendly” design for bird and squirrel lovers.
If you have the space to do it, elevate evergreens into an experience with a workshop or special shopping space. You’re not just selling greenery — you’re selling a feeling.
- Host a workshop with cider, music, and demonstrations. Let customers experience the joy of the craft while making special holiday memories. Cater to family fun or a girls’ night out so you can get small groups of guests coming together, making ticket sales easier and the experience more meaningful. Remember, evergreens are part of a long-standing tradition and you want to try to make your business part of customer’s traditions.
- Include a care card with every sale explaining how to keep greens fresh and fragrant longer, which will get you repeat customers.
- Don’t forget the photo op: have a nice backdrop for customers to take photos of their creations and themselves. We’re not the only ones looking for content opportunities these days. Plus you might just make it onto someone’s holiday cards next year!
With those tips in mind, you should be well equipped to start your evergreen empire, drawing in customers who will return year after year to celebrate with your festive creations. If you’re super new to creating evergreen wreaths, we’ve got a handy reference chart below for you to help gauge how many evergreens to order. Click here to download a PDF.
Be sure to also check out our recent post on Evergreen Essentials for Floral Pros to learn all about how to source and store your evergreens.
