Has the hand-tied had its day?

These days hand-tied bouquet has become something of a victim of its own success. A lot of florists have backed themselves into this ‘aquapack trap’ and every one expects their bouquets to be presented that way. Though, you can not say that hand-tied can ever disappear completely, florists need to be showing the customer different ideas and not sticking just on hand-tied.
So what’s wrong with a beautifully-designed and wrapped hand-tied bouquet? Two things: the unfortunate dumbing-down it’s had in the marketplace, and the labour cost for the independent florist in creating it. The fact that endless versions of this once premium product are now available every where, from the supermarkets and garage forecourt to the stall on the street - and often at prices that leave the independent florists without the hope of competing.
Unfortunately the supermarkets can now produce what, to the untrained eye, looks like a very similar product so it is no longer enough for the florist to do the basic hand-tied bouquet. And florists have to make them even more special, what ever that’s with accessories or luxury wrappings, or offering alternative like luxury tropical flowers or front-facing versions.
As alternative to the hand-tied, some florists are now managing to catch the attention of a new, younger generation of their customers with none other than the old (and not very lamented) flat packed bouquet. Younger people find them different from what they are used to, and as long as they are not done in that awful old-fashioned way like mixed-up flowers in the bag, they can look fantastic. And as other alternative to hand-tied, florists can promote quick-to-make, ready-filled vases, along with what some might see as another relic of the 80th. These can be produced on the workbench 10 at time, for maximum cost effective.
Though many people find a hand-tied is much nicer to receive than any other type of the bouquet - but nowadays the florists need to work harder than ever to achieve the same level of impact when it’s handed over.