Why flowers are high-risk shipments
Flowers are fragile. And behind their beautiful color and scent lies a short shelf life and a rigid temperature range. Once cut, flowers start to lose water fast. Petals bruise with the slightest pressure. Some varieties, such as peonies or garden roses, can brown under sudden temperature shifts.
Additionally, flowers demand perfect timing. A flower that arrives too early loses freshness. One that arrives late can’t be used.
Considering that in global trade, the wedding season (May – September) overlaps with high-heat months, such shipments risk heat exposure at multiple points. But shipping flowers is not just about cold storage. It’s about planning cargo flow. Here’s why:
- Short shelf life: Most flowers must reach their final destination within 48 to 72 hours of harvest.
- Temperature sensitivity: Different types of flowers require different temperature ranges, often between 2°C and 8°C. Exceeding these for even one hour can damage the cargo.
- Multiple touchpoints: From the grower to the buyer, flowers pass through at least five to seven stages. Each touchpoint is a risk. And each minute spent outside cooling can reduce shelf life by hours.
How Swiss WorldCargo secures a beautiful bouquet
Swiss WorldCargo designs flower shipping like clockwork. The approach focuses on three essentials: protection, predictability, and process.
Protection: Swiss WorldCargo delivers a correct and successful flower transportation by ensuring that the packaging is well taken care of. For flower shipments, corrugated cardboard boxes are often the ideal choice, since they are strong enough to withstand stacking and handling.
Additional packing materials like foam inserts, dividers, or even cable ties are employed to further secure the flowers, in order to prevent movement and protect the delicate blooms.
Last but not least, with this type of consignments it is key to ensure ventilation during transportation. This is achieved by avoiding airtight packaging, for example through small perforations or the usage of breathable wrapping materials like waxed paper or tissue paper to prevent moisture buildup. Throughout the transportation process, Swiss WorldCargo also makes sure that the shipment is stored in the right temperature whenever the conditions allow.
Predictability: The flowers’ journey is organized and planned meticulously to limit dwell time and ensure near-direct connections. Furthermore, our Zurich Hub’s expert personnel is professionally trained to handle perishables fast and properly: a box of roses doesn’t sit on hot concrete.
Process: Last but not least, consistent standard operating procedures guide every flower shipment. No shortcuts. No improvising. For a successful delivery.
A sample shipment: From Colombia to Zurich
A wedding florist in Switzerland orders garden roses from Colombia in late May, and temperatures in Bogotá reach 28°C by mid-afternoon. Here is how Swiss WorldCargo will transport the flowers:
- Pre-shipment: Ideally, the flowers are harvested at night and pre-cooled in refrigerated packhouses. Swiss WorldCargo coordinates with the exporter to align cargo handoff with flight schedules.
- Flight leg: The roses fly from Bogotá to Zurich on a SWISS aircraft in a carefully prepared box. The routing will be designed to either be direct, or avoid long transits or congested hubs.
- Arrival: Zurich handling crew receives the shipment and moves it directly into a cold room. Customs is pre-cleared.
- Delivery: The shipment moves to the florist within hours, still chilled and intact.
- End result: Perfect bloom, on time, for a wedding that can’t afford delay.
Flowers deserve better than luck
If you are in need of moving flowers during wedding season you might face tight delivery windows and unforgiving conditions. A minor mistake can result in financial loss or a loss of client trust. This is why Swiss WorldCargo is more than a transporter. It’s a controlled system for perishables that helps your business keep its promises. We help you reduce spoilage and shrinkage, improve reliability during peak months, and get access to trained handling and expert teams.
Like other seasons, the wedding season pushes supply chains to their limits. Success depends on structure, not luck. But in this case, the shipment, which is usually cut flowers, isn’t just ordinary freight; they’re living cargo. This means they need control, care, and speed. Swiss WorldCargodelivers that control. Through cold chain planning and trained teams, we ensure that delicate goods, such as flowers, arrive fresh and on time.
If your shipments can’t risk failure, they need more than cargo space. They need Swiss WorldCargo.
