When Michelle Jones’ longtime wholesale supplier was sold, the new owners made a surprising move: They began selling flowers directly to the public, stepping into the retail space their customers once served. Soon after, another supplier stopped stocking flowers altogether, requiring every order to be prebooked — even for urgent needs. 

“If you have a last-minute order, like a funeral that comes in, and the truck isn’t coming for the next two days, then you’re out of luck,” says Jones in the March/April issue of Floral Management. “It really changes the dynamic here.” 

Across the country, Theresa Colucci, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, has experienced the opposite. After two regional wholesalers merged, she gained access to stronger inventory and expanded education. “It’s been a great benefit to me,” she says in the March/April issue of Floral Management. 

Those contrasting experiences reflect a bigger reality: Wholesale consolidation is accelerating, fueled not only by pandemic-era profits, private equity interest and mounting operational costs, but also by longtime owners seeking succession solutions. At least eight wholesalers folded into larger companies in 2025 alone, reshaping regional supply maps and redefining how florists access product, technology and service. 

Hear from the wholesale executives behind the acquisitions and learn how consolidation is transforming the floral supply chain — and what it means for florists navigating the changes — in “Floral Wholesale in Flux” in the March/April issue of Floral Management. 

Amanda Jedlinsky is the senior director of content and communications for the Society of American Florists.