Today, let's start with a business around us, flowers.
In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of flower sellers. For example, many subway stations have flower vendors or vending machines selling flowers. For example, Hema stores will place fresh flowers in the most prominent positions and use a bouquet of roses around 10 yuan as a drainage product.
However, if you carefully ponder, you may find a somewhat strange thing: the current fresh flowers are too stable in terms of quality, price, supply, and update frequency. To what extent is it stable? It doesn't even look like a plant, more like an industrial product on an assembly line.
How was all of this done? Why can we guarantee such stable prices, quality, and update frequency? Recently, retail consulting expert Huang Biyun conducted research at the Yunnan Flower Base and we will take a look at the observations she brought back.

01
Labubu growing on the tree
Firstly, why are flowers more like industrial products on an assembly line? In terms of price, you can buy flowers for 9.9 yuan throughout the year. Judging from the quality, flowers nowadays are so fresh and watery all year round. Looking at the new frequency again, this category has maintained a stable pace of new releases in recent years, just like trendy blind boxes. You should know that in the impression of many people, flowers are delicate and delicate. Fluctuations in weather and transportation can cause fluctuations in price and quality, not to mention stable updates. But now, the situation is clearly different. Recently, when Professor Huang Biyun went to Yunnan Flower Base for research, she also found that a considerable number of mainstream colors for flowers are actually based on the annual colors released by Pantone. Note that it's a set, I will cultivate flowers of the color you like. For example, the "extraordinary magenta" in 2023 and the "soft peach" in 2024 have become the focus of flower cultivation that year. You see, these are not the flowers we used to know, they are simply "Labubu" growing on trees.

02
The operational logic of Yunnan flower trading market
Why did Teacher Huang Biyun choose to go to Yunnan? Because this is the main source of fresh flowers in China. There has always been a saying in the industry that out of every 10 fresh flowers in China, 7 come from Yunnan. About one-third of the world's ornamental flower germplasm resources also come from Yunnan. To understand Yunnan's flower industry, one must first understand its core hub. This place is called Dounan Flower Market. This is a key hub for Yunnan and even the entire domestic flower industry. This is also the largest flower trading market in Asia and the second largest in the world. In 2024, the transaction volume of Yunnan Dounan Flower Market reached 14.176 billion branches, with a transaction volume of 11.574 billion yuan. Equivalent to a national per capita consumption of 10 flowers. This number is still growing. In the first half of 2025, the transaction volume has reached 7.245 billion branches, with a transaction volume of 6.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4%. Here, there are 117 major categories and over 1600 varieties of fresh flowers listed daily. Almost all the flowers you can think of are here. A huge industrial cluster has formed around the Dounan Flower Market. There are over 15300 enterprises related to flowers here, with professional personnel involved in every aspect from planting, picking, grading, packaging, transportation, to wholesale and retail. However, a large scale is only the foundation. How to sell the flowers grown? To whom? How to determine the price? You should know that in the domestic flower industry, more than 70% of the seeds depend on imports, and the price of seeds is the the final say of others. The subsequent planting chain is relatively passive. In this context, there is not much profit margin for flower trading, and the market used to be very chaotic. How can this problem be solved? This brings us to the trading mechanism of Dounan Flower Market. They have optimized their trading channels as much as possible, despite the difficulty of fully controlling the upstream seed industry. The core of this mechanism lies in a place called the Flower Auction Market, which stands for Kunming International Flower Auction and Trading Center. Here, 7.06 million fresh flowers are traded daily. Please note that not all transactions for Yunnan flowers are completed in the auction market, but the auction market plays a decisive role in the pricing mechanism. How does this flower auction market operate? Its basic logic is called price auction. This mechanism was borrowed from the world's largest Dutch flower trading market in Yunnan in 2002. Every day, flower farmers bring fresh flowers, clapping hands, and wholesalers are stationed at the trading center. You can imagine this scene, you are sitting in the auction hall, with a big data screen in front of you displaying information about a bouquet of roses, including picking time, origin, grade, and defects.

The price starts at a high level and then drops gradually, for example, from 10 yuan to 9.5 yuan, 9 yuan, and 8.5 yuan. Your finger is hovering over the bidding device. If you think it's worth it, press the bidding device, and the bouquet of flowers is yours. Of course, this process is often very quick, with an average transaction time of only 4 seconds per order. What are the benefits of this system? Firstly, it limits the highest price, avoiding inflated prices. In 2024, the average transaction price for all categories was 0.94 yuan per flower. Secondly, it is an auction method, which is likely to also avoid maliciously low prices. The income of the flower farmers is guaranteed. More importantly, it can standardize the quality control system of the entire industry. For example, every bouquet of flowers traded here will have an "electronic ID card", with all information such as grade, height, and appearance displayed in real time on the data screen. For instance, during a rainstorm, yellow roses are prone to developing mold spots, and the data screen will also mark "mold spot risk", which is a very important reminder for buyers. Another example is that it will maintain the lower limit of quality. If a bouquet of flowers fails to sell and no one buys it, what should be done? It will be completely destroyed and not allowed to enter the market. Although it seems wasteful, it actually protects the quality of the entire market. Moreover, now the transaction rate in Dounan is as high as 95.34%, indicating that the quality of the vast majority of flowers is satisfactory. This is the general operating logic of the flower trading market in Yunnan.

03
What are the innovations in the supply side of flowers in Yunnan?

After discussing the transaction process, we continued to explore further, looking at the flower cultivation in Yunnan. In recent years, Yunnan has made many innovations in flower cultivation, which is also a key to the stable growth of flowers. For instance, there have been innovations in varieties. Although some seeds have been in short supply, Yunnan has been breaking through in other directions. In May 2025, Yunnan showcased over 1,000 new varieties of "Chinese-style" rose cut flowers. These are varieties specifically developed to meet the aesthetic and demand of Chinese consumers. Currently, the entire province of Yunnan has applied for over 1,100 new varieties, and over 800 have received national authorization. The innovation in variety is ranked first in the country. Another example is the innovation in color. As mentioned earlier, the flower cultivation in Yunnan follows the Pantone color trend. After Pantone announces the annual color trend, not only the fashion industry but also the flower industry will follow suit. For example, if the annual color trend is fuchsia, the flower farmers in Yunnan will specifically develop or expand the cultivation of this color. Moreover, the current flowers have developed a very mature color absorption process. In simple terms, it is adding colors to the water to allow the flowers to absorb these colors during their growth and grow the desired color. Secondly, apart from product development, Yunnan's flowers also have a key innovation in logistics. You know, flowers are very delicate and the most vulnerable part is transportation. Traditional flower logistics has a loss rate of up to 30%. Out of 10 bouquets of flowers, 3 will not reach the consumers. And Yunnan is improving this. For example, Yunnan has developed a full-process cold chain logistics. In July 2024, the Duntan Flower Cold Chain Distribution Center was put into use, handling an average of 125,000 packages per day, with constant temperature preservation throughout the process. From the time of picking to the hands of consumers, the flowers are all in the cold chain. Within 48 hours, Yunnan flowers can be delivered to Beijing and Shanghai, and within 72 hours, Yunnan's flowers can be delivered to consumers in Southeast Asia. The loss rate has been significantly reduced. Data from China Railway Express shows that the loss rate of flower materials is controlled within 0.37%. Another example is that Yunnan has developed a gap logistics. You see, apart from flowers, Yunnan also produces fresh vegetables, both of which require preservation. The vegetable logistics needs to be packed, and there may be gaps, resulting in reduced logistics efficiency. However, the packaging of flowers is almost all slender, making it easy to leave gaps. Through meticulous arrangement, the efficiency of the entire logistics chain can be improved.

04
The "self-enjoyment" attribute of flowers is becoming stronger.
Surely, all of the above innovations are on the supply side. But what about the demand side? Why do consumers prefer to buy flowers? This brings us to an insight that flower practitioners have gained over the years. The "self-indulgence" attribute of flowers is becoming stronger. When it comes to flower consumption, what is the first reaction of many people? Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, birthdays, right? But now the situation has changed. Now, in the scenarios of giving flowers, special dates account for 51%, holidays account for 20%. These special dates are not just traditional Valentine's Day and birthdays; the proportion of sending flowers during graduation season and the beginning of the school year is also increasing. What is more noteworthy is that in the scenarios of giving flowers, without a fixed date accounts for 30%. That is to say, regardless of the date, you buy it when you think of it. For example, when having a small gathering with friends, bring a bouquet of flowers as a gift. Or give yourself a "weekly flower" without any special reason, just because you want to buy a bouquet of flowers and keep it at home or in the office to make yourself feel good. This is a very clear consumption trend at present, spending a little money to make yourself happy. This year, TikTok has also popularized a consumption model called "small rewards", which basically means spending a little money to buy something that is not very useful but can instantly make you feel better. You might say, there are many things that can make you happy with a small amount of money, like milk tea, coffee, and blind boxes. Why is it always flowers? There are several reasons. First, the visual impact is strong. Flowers are naturally beautiful and suitable for taking photos and sharing. Flower photos convey the message that I am a person who loves myself. Second, the lifecycle is short. A bouquet of flowers can last for 3 to 7 days. This period is neither too long nor too short, just long enough to maintain freshness. And because it will wither, you will cherish it more. This feeling of "cherishing the present" is something that many products cannot provide. Third, the price threshold is not high. The average price per bouquet of flowers is gradually decreasing, from 9.9 yuan to 50 yuan. This price range covers the vast majority of people. With a cup of milk tea's price, you can buy a bouquet of flowers and gain relatively rich emotional value. Through innovations in products, transactions, logistics, etc., the flowers from Yunnan have achieved both good quality and low price. And "good quality and low price" precisely hits the core of emotional consumption. The flower industry in Yunnan has also given us a reminder that the direction of the market is not fixed, but its main body is always people. At any time, hitting people's subtle inner needs can create opportunities for your business to find a way out.