Bloom: How the trade industry can make the most of the festival

Over 100,000 people attended Bloom last year - providing the trade market with unparalleled access to consumers

Bloom is known for its Show Gardens, but there are plenty of opportunities for the trade market to take advantage of the growing audience

Horticulture

3 June 2017

We here at Growtrade.ie are walking amongst the bustling crowd, taking snapshots of the best gardens, and soaking up the sunshine of the 2017 Bloom festival.

Garden and trade enthusiasts alike are taking their time walking through the whopping 70 acre site (including carparks) to experience everything on show.

Bloom is now in its 10th year of business. Setup in 2007 by Bord Bia, Bloom was primarily used as a promotional vehicle for horticulture; providing a showcase, garden plants, garden design, construction, horticulture, and gardening as a hobby.

Bloom is a fantastic opportunity for any sized nursery, garden centre owner, and ultimately anyone in the business of horticulture to meet their target audience face to face.

There are plenty of directions a business can go at Bloom. Between the 50 floral and botanical art displays, more than 100 live talks, cooking demonstrations, a nursery and floral pavilion, food stalls, 13 postcard gardens and the main attraction – the 22 show gardens, there is a sector for all businesses to take advantage of.

This year’s show gardens range from Oxfam Ireland and Goal’s “A World Beyond Walls” garden, designed by Niall Maxwell; which reflects the turbulent political nature and the “need for tolerance and acceptance in an increasingly divided world” to the fun and playful Despicable Me 3 garden, sponsored by Universal Studios, and designed by Bríd Conroy.

However it isn’t just all about show gardens at Bloom with a floral pavilion available for nurseries to show-off their products directly to consumers and to other market leaders.

According to latest figures from Bloom, 110,762 people attended over the five days of a previous event with Sunday being the busiest day followed by the bank holiday Monday.

Visitor Demographics (Source: Bloom):

Accompanied by children: 19%
Female: 75%
Male: 25%
Age Profile
- 15 – 24: 2%
- 25 – 34: 8%
- 35 – 44: 25%
- 45 – 54: 25%
- 55 – 64: 23%
- 65+: 16%
Respondents Travelled From:
- Dublin: 48%
- Rest of Ireland: 49%
- International: 3%

In the 10 years of Bloom’s existence; the event has doubled in size, grown its audience, and provided a fantastic opportunity for trade businesses to meet their consumers.