Owned by Sarah Torgerson and Kayla Carey, the Kentucky Flower Market, based in Simpsonville, KY, is a collaborative market of flower farmers who sell and market together, primarily through an online platform. 

“Our goal is to help take some of the logistical and marketing barriers related to wholesale markets off of the farmer,” says Kayla Carey. “We’ve found that you can sell more when you sell together.” 

After moving back to Kentucky from Colorado, where she was part of a flower farmer co-op, Sarah shared the concept with some local farmers and started gauging local interest. During this time, KCARD’s Brent Lackey helped answer questions related to cooperative business structure, pricing, tax status, and other logistics, including clarifying key details of the business plan. 

“Brent met with us on multiple Zoom meetings and phone calls and answered lots of questions so we could get started. It was very helpful to troubleshoot with him and bounce ideas off of him,” Kayla says. 

Now, the Kentucky Flower Market consists of around 30 flower farmers around the Louisville and Lexington areas. The group recently added a storefront in Simpsonville to complement their online platform where buyers can purchase wholesale cut flowers from multiple flower farms at one time. Participating growers benefit from a helpful community, wider-reaching marketing, and access to valuable wholesale markets. 

“Overall, our goal is to move the local floral movement along by making farming easier for flower farmers,” Kayla says. “This collective really helps serve as a remedy for potential burnout and just helps bring the flower community together in an impactful way.” 

Meet all of the growers on the Kentucky Flower Market’s website here: The Growers — The Kentucky Flower Market