Product and Color Trends for 2022: Interview with Sarah Botchick from Pioneer Imports and Wholesale
Ask Sarah Botchick what the big trend for 2022 is and you'll get the most honest forecast in the industry: "whatever's not on a boat." In this episode, Vonda and Lori sit down with the General Manager and Marketing Strategist of Pioneer Imports and Wholesale — a family business Sarah was practically born into — for a conversation that covers permanent botanicals, shipping chaos, social media strategy, and the one trend report every florist already owns but rarely reads.
From the trunk of a car to a warehouse in Berea
Sarah's parents started Pioneer in 1977 — the classic trunk-of-the-car, attic-of-the-rented-house story. Her dad was selling Vitamix machines when he took a chance on macrame, ended up with leftover stock, and started driving it around to Cleveland flower shops. Customers kept asking for more items, silks followed, and the business grew building by building. Sarah joined the payroll in 1996, and in 1998 — mid-way through a graphic and web design degree — called her dad from the college lawn to insist they needed a website. His answer: "Oh, okay, make a website." It became one of the industry's earliest. Today Pioneer imports and wholesales silk flowers and baskets across the U.S. and Canada, with about 20 employees and a warehouse that's increasingly a sample and product-development space.
Whatever you can get your hands on is trendy
The shipping picture Sarah describes will sound familiar: containers sitting in harbors, no rail space, parcel carriers stacking surcharges by box size, and lead times on imported product stretching from three or four months to as much as ten. Pioneer's response has been to become shipping experts — resizing boxes to dodge surcharges, changing case quantities, ordering earlier and broader, and sourcing the same product from multiple factories so something is always available. Her summary advice for shop owners riding the same roller coaster: accept imperfection. Nothing is going to be perfect right now, and getting worked up about it accomplishes nothing.
Silk and fresh are partners, not competitors
The big product story for 2022 is permanent botanicals in installations — flower walls, ceilings, wrapped posts and pavilions — and not just for weddings anymore, but restaurants and offices too. The benefits stack up: you can build weeks in advance, you know exactly what you're getting, and reusable garlands even earn a spot in the sustainability conversation because you buy them once and use them for years. Lori points out the practical angle for shops struggling to get fresh product: use fresh where fresh matters most (sympathy work, fragrance moments guests can lean into) and let permanents carry the structure. Vonda recalls building permanent wisteria chandeliers that traveled from Iowa to Minnesota without anyone knowing the difference. As Sarah puts it, don't look at silk and fresh as competitors — see how they can be partners.
Know your audience before you pick your platform
Sarah has long been the marketer to watch in this corner of the industry, and her core social media advice hasn't changed: there is no magic bullet, and platform choice should follow your audience. Pioneer stays strong on Facebook because that's where florists and interior designers are; wedding work lives on Pinterest and Instagram; prom might belong on TikTok or Snapchat. Match the platform to the customer you're trying to reach for that product line, not to your personal comfort zone.
The best trend report is your own books
Sarah's parting advice may be the most valuable ten seconds of the episode. Trend forecasts are everywhere and they all disagree — Pioneer's own is built from reading dozens of them — but the forecast that matters most is your own sales statistics and wedding bookings. Pioneer's numbers show pink still incredibly strong even where other reports leave it out, and colors rarely die suddenly; they fade slowly enough to spot in your reports. Read the forecasts for fun and direction, but read your own numbers more. And when Vonda asks her closing question, Sarah shares something personal: after four years of health struggles including cancer, she's decided to stop focusing on illness and start focusing on health — a treadmill, better food, and a mindset of adding good things rather than depriving herself.
Key takeaways
- In a supply-chain crunch, the trend is what's in your cooler and on your shelves — merchandise what you can actually get.
- Treat silk and fresh as partners: permanents for structure, advance builds, and rentals; fresh where fragrance and freshness matter.
- Reusable permanent installations (flower walls, garlands) are a build-once, rent-repeatedly revenue stream.
- Pick social platforms by audience, not habit — Facebook for everyday and sympathy, Instagram and Pinterest for weddings, TikTok for prom.
- Your own sales reports are a better trend forecast than any published one.