Elevate Events & Media’s New Ownership Era Ignites Record-Breaking Growth for Floriexpo
PORTLAND, ME — June 11, 2026 — Elevate Events & Media, , today announced the unprecedented consecutive success of Floriexpo 2025 and Floriexpo 2026. The milestone achievements mark a powerful turning point for North America’s largest business-to-business floral exposition since Elevate officially assumed ownership and operational control two years ago. Under this new leadership era, the event has undergone a comprehensive strategic evolution, establishing a new benchmark for modern trade show execution.
Upon taking the helm, Elevate’s new ownership team recognized that the rapidly changing commercial floral landscape required an entirely new methodology.
“When we acquired Floriexpo, our primary objective was to transition the event from a transactional marketplace into an immersive, community-driven ecosystem,” said Bob Callahan, President and CEO. “We didn't just want to manage a trade show; we wanted to champion a change in approach that mirrors how modern retail buyers actually discover products and build partnerships. By embedding ourselves directly within the floral supply chain, we designed an environment where major enterprise volume buyers and international growers can compress their procurement cycles.”
Elevate’s revitalized operational strategy was driven by three pillars:
Immersive, Experiential Show Floor: Moving away from predictable grid layouts, Elevate restructured the exhibition floor into an interactive marketplace centered around high-energy activations. This evolution was anchored by a reimagined Flower & Wine Bar, which served as a dynamic sip and create networking hub alongside popular iced coffee and smoothie stations that energized and transformed traditional foot traffic into high-dwell-time engagement. To spark further attendee participation, Elevate expanded high-stakes feature events—including the thrilling Iron Designer Competition, where elite designers raced against the clock using exhibitors' latest floral varieties, and the highly anticipated Flower Naming Ceremony, which gave retail buyers an exclusive, hands-on stake in launching the industry’s newest breeds.
White-Glove VIP Buyer Programs: Elevate worked closely on developing a high touch/high quality Key Buyer Program guaranteed intentional, face-to-face encounters between high-volume floral buyers (representing major supermarket chains, mass merchandisers, and large wholesale companies) and premier floral brands from across the supply chain
365-Day Brand Engagement: Transitioning Floriexpo from a three-day physical event into a year-round industry resource, the new ownership introduced targeted industry insights, exhibitor spotlights and other valuable floral content keeping the community connected and engaged through all four quarters.
“The success of the 2025 and 2026 expositions proves that trade shows must evolve beyond four walls and standard pipe-and-drape,” said Callahan. “Our new ownership structure gives us the strategic freedom to innovate rapidly. Delivering exhibitor retention higher than this show has even seen validates that our white glove, experiential approach is exactly what this sector needs right now.”
For trade show executives and industry observers, Elevate’s stewardship of Floriexpo provides a compelling case study on how new leadership and a calculated pivot in strategy can breathe massive commercial energy into a legacy brand.
Planning is already underway for Floriexpo 2027, with further expansion of its curated buyer program and brand-new technological integrations designed to maximize on-site ROI.
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About Elevate Events & Media
Elevate Events & Media is a trade show and event management company specializing in building, transforming, and scaling highly targeted B2B exhibitions. With an approach rooted in community integration, operational agility, and premium participant experiences, Elevate bridges the gap between traditional trade shows and modern, high-value marketplaces.
About Floriexpo
Floriexpo is North America’s largest business-to-business trade show exclusively dedicated to the commercial floral industry. Connecting mass-market floral buyers from supermarkets, chain stores, and wholesale operations with top-tier growers and suppliers from around the world, Floriexpo serves as the primary procurement hub for the floral supply chain.