Supply chain issue causes flower shortage ahead of Valentine's Day

MISHAWAKA, Ind. – With Valentine’s just days away many people are hitting the stores for those heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and bouquets to give to their special someone.

But with so many issues in supply chains, some floral shops are worried as they enter their busiest time of the year.

For floral shop, Powell the Florist, they’re not feeling the heat. The co-owner, Greg Powell, said they’ve been preparing for Valentine’s Day since December. Because of that, they haven’t felt the supply chain issue that so many are dealing with.

“We’ve been lucky this year we’ve got several wholesalers that we deal with,” Powell said. “You never can know how much you’re going to need because, of the weather, order as much as you can, and we have a good supply this year.”

Global supply chain issues have been impacting everything across the country, from cars to grocery stores. Now, another industry is feeling clipped, and right before its busiest holiday of the season.

Flowers at floral shops are shipped from all over the world. At Powell the Florist in Mishawaka, Co-owner Powell said his flowers come from California, Florida, Canada, and South America. His wholesalers contacted him around Christmas to get his Valentine’s Day order in.

Even though some flower shops are experiencing a backlog, Powell said they’ll be ready for the Valentine's Day rush. The shop doesn’t seem to be dealing with a worker shortage either.

“We’ve doubled and tripled our staff, normal we have one-two drivers on a regular day, and on Monday we’ll have eight,” Powell said.