News

Artificial grass lawn has quietly become one of the most versatile categories in the artificial plant range. What began as a garden substitute is now specified for interior floors, event staging, retail displays, balconies and landscape projects alike. For importers, that breadth is an opportunity — but it also means the same item is judged against very different expectations depending on where it is installed.

Gardenia Leaf: Why This Construction Is Popular

The gardenia-leaf construction uses densely packed, slightly curled leaves that hold their shape without support, which makes it look established the moment it is laid. Unlike flat turf carpet, it has visible depth and a natural, uneven surface, so it reads well both indoors and outdoors. It also resists fading and holds its form under foot traffic, which is why it has become the default choice for buyers who need one product to serve several installation types.

Indoor, Outdoor and Landscape Applications

Indoor use includes shop and showroom floors, event and exhibition stands, hotel entrances, balconies and photo backdrops. Outdoor use covers garden borders, terrace edges, pool surrounds, roof terraces and commercial landscaping. The material is the same in both cases, but the requirement differs: outdoor installations demand proven UV and fade resistance, while indoor buyers care more about colour consistency and how the surface photographs. Specify the intended use at the inquiry stage so the right material is quoted.

Panels and Tiles Expand the Category

Beyond single sheets, grass is increasingly supplied as interlocking panels and tiles, and as vertical mats for wall and fence coverage. Panels are popular with event suppliers because they can be assembled quickly into a temporary floor or wall and packed away afterwards, and with landscape contractors because a modular surface is easier to install over an irregular area. If your market includes events or interior fit-outs, ask which formats are available in the construction you have chosen.

Specifications That Matter

When quoting grass, confirm four things: the construction and leaf type, the pile height, the backing material and the sheet or tile dimensions. Pile height drives both appearance and cost, and the backing determines whether the item can be cut to size without shedding. For panels, confirm the interlocking method and whether edges are trimmed for joining. Ask for the packed dimensions and unit weight as well, because grass rolls are bulky and freight is calculated on volume.

Durability and Fade Resistance

Fade resistance is the property that decides whether a customer reorders. Ask how the colour performs after a season of direct sun, and request a material sample to test on site if your market includes permanent outdoor installation. Because the gardenia-leaf construction uses denser material than flat turf carpet, it generally holds colour and shape better over time — but the end use should still be confirmed, since an indoor item used outdoors will disappoint.

Combining Grass With the Rest of the Range

Grass rarely ships alone. Landscapers and event suppliers typically order it with artificial trees, succulents and bush flowers to complete a scheme, and a mixed container from one supplier keeps freight cost down. Our industry news section covers how these categories are used together in commercial projects.

Freight: Plan for Volume

Grass is a volume product. A container of rolled lawn will reach its cubic limit long before its weight limit, so the sheet dimensions, roll diameter and carton configuration decide how much you can ship per container. Ask for a loading plan alongside the quotation, and compare formats — panels may pack more efficiently than sheets for some sizes, even at a higher unit cost.

Start a Grass Programme

Tell us the application — indoor floor, outdoor landscape, event panel or wall coverage — together with the sheet or tile size you prefer and your destination market, and our export team will propose a construction with a loading plan sized to your volume. Contact our export team to request samples and pricing, or browse the product catalogue to build a mixed order.

For wholesale buyers, quality is not a promise made at the start of a relationship — it is a set of procedures that either exist or do not. This article sets out how Zhejiang Hansy Craft controls quality from incoming material to loading, which external certifications we hold, and what a buyer can verify independently before placing a bulk order.

Certification: BSCI Audit and FSC

Our factory has passed a BSCI social compliance audit and holds FSC certification for wood-based and paper packaging components. These are the two documents overseas importers most often ask for when onboarding a new supplier, because they cover different risks: BSCI addresses working conditions and factory management, while FSC covers the source of fibre-based materials. Certificates are available on request, and we can arrange a buyer's own audit or a third-party inspection appointment.

Three-Stage Inspection on Every Bulk Order

Quality control at our factory runs in three defined stages. First, incoming material checks confirm that fabric, PE and plastic arrive to specification before production starts. Second, on-line inspection during flower setting and assembly catches defects while the batch is still open, when a correction is cheap. Third, a final random inspection before packing checks the finished goods against the approved sample. Colour fastness, stem strength, glue points and pot stability are all part of the final check.

Golden Samples: The Reference Behind Repeat Orders

The most common quality complaint in artificial plant trade is drift between the first order and the fourth. Our defence is the golden sample: for every OEM item, we sign and retain a physical reference sample and record the approved colour swatch in the production file. When the item is produced again a year later, the reference sample is the standard, not a photograph or a memory. This matters most to chain stores and wholesalers who reorder the same item number season after season.

Material Safety and Market-Specific Requirements

Our artificial flowers and plants use eco-friendly polyester, PE and plastic materials, with bionic colouring to reproduce natural texture and tone. For markets with specific compliance requirements, test reports on requested items can be arranged before mass production. If your destination market requires documentation for a particular substance or standard, tell us at the quotation stage so the test can be included in the production schedule rather than added afterwards.

Third-Party Inspection and Visual Evidence

You do not have to rely on our own inspection. We accept third-party inspections from SGS, Bureau Veritas, TUV or any agency you appoint, and we welcome buyers who want to audit the factory in person. During production we can supply progress photos and packing details so you can follow the order before shipment. Our quality assurance and buyer verification page summarises these options, and the factory page describes the equipment and process behind the claims.

Why In-House Production Improves Consistency

Consistency is easier to hold when the critical components are made under one roof. We produce our own moulded parts and set the flowers ourselves, which means colour batch, shape tolerance and assembly method stay under our control rather than depending on several outside workshops. Vertical production also makes problems visible earlier — a deviation is caught at the injection machine or the setting table, long before it reaches the export carton.

Verify Before You Commit

Every claim on this page can be checked. Ask for the certificates, request a test report for your market, book an audit or inspection, or order a physical sample and judge it yourself. A supplier that welcomes verification is usually a supplier that can be trusted with a repeating programme. Contact our export team to request certificates, arrange an inspection or discuss your quality requirements for a first order.

Christmas is the most time-critical category in the artificial plant calendar. The selling window is short, the goods are bulky, and a late container is worthless once December passes. Buyers who plan the tree programme properly are working on it in spring, not autumn. This guide explains the main tree constructions, the specifications that drive cost, and how to plan freight for a category where volume, not weight, sets the limit.

The Main Tree Constructions

Artificial Christmas trees fall into three broad types. PVC trees use flat needle strips cut and attached to wire branches; they are the most economical and give a full, traditional look. PE trees use moulded polyethylene branch tips that imitate real needles with a three-dimensional shape, giving the most realistic appearance and a higher price point. Mixed PE and PVC trees combine moulded PE tips on the outer layers with PVC filler inside, which is the construction most commercial buyers settle on because it balances realism against cost.

Flocked, Snowy and Pencil Varieties

Beyond the base construction, surface treatments widen the range considerably. Flocked trees carry a white coating that imitates snow on the branches; snowy or frosted finishes apply a lighter effect; pencil trees use a narrow profile for tight spaces; and pre-lit versions integrate string lights. Each treatment changes the material cost and the packing volume, and they sell into different retail segments — a garden centre may want the classic mixed tree, while a home decorator brand may want flocked and pencil models.

Specifications That Drive Price

Four numbers decide the cost of a tree: height, tip count, branch construction and base type. Tip count is the clearest indicator of fullness, and two trees of the same height can differ substantially in appearance and price depending on it. Base type — metal stand, folding metal base or plastic stand — affects stability and packed volume. Ask for all four figures for every item you quote, because the item name alone rarely tells you what you are buying.

Hinged and Automatic Assembly

How a tree assembles is a practical selling point, not a detail. Hinged trees have branches that fold out from the trunk and drop into position, which makes them faster to set up. Automatic trees go further, with branches that open as the sections are joined. For commercial buyers, assembly time is a customer-service issue — a tree that takes an hour to shape generates returns and complaints — so it is worth specifying and testing.

Carton Volume and Container Planning

Trees are light for their size, which means a container fills by volume long before it reaches its weight limit. The figures that matter are the master carton dimensions and the number of cartons per container, and they determine your landed cost per unit more than the FOB price does. Ask the supplier for a loading plan at the quotation stage, and check how cartons nest — a small reduction in packed volume across a full container is worth more than a small discount on the unit price.

Order Timing and Season Planning

Christmas production competes with every other category from late summer, and shipping adds weeks on top. Working backwards from your retail window, the safe plan is to confirm designs and place the order in spring or early summer, allow for production and inspection, and ship in time for goods to clear and distribute before the season. Buyers who wait until autumn are competing for production slots and paying for air freight or accepting late delivery.

Combine Trees With the Rest of the Range

A Christmas programme rarely stops at trees. Retailers usually want complementary decorative items in the same shipment, and combining them into one container lowers freight cost per unit. Our range includes Christmas trees in PE, PVC, flocked and pencil constructions, alongside the sprays and bush flowers that decorate them and the grass lawn and artificial tree items that carry a store through the rest of the year.

Plan Your Christmas Programme

Send us the heights, constructions and retail price points you need, together with your market and target delivery window, and our export team will propose a tree range with tip counts, carton data and a container loading plan. Started early, the programme is straightforward; started late, it is a scramble. Contact our export team to begin planning, or browse the product catalogue for the current range.

Every season our design team develops new moulds and colourways based on two inputs: what buyers asked for during the previous year, and what is moving in retail markets we follow. This update summarises the product development work behind the current range, so wholesale buyers know what is genuinely new and what has simply been extended to more sizes and colours.

How We Develop a New Item

Product development at a source factory starts with moulds, not with photographs. For a new flower head or pot, our team builds the mould, runs a first-off sample, and checks the result against a real plant for petal count, curvature, colour gradient and stem angle. Once the sample is approved internally, it goes into the seasonal sample file and can be quoted to buyers. Because we produce our own components, a new design is a scheduling decision rather than a sourcing project.

Butterfly Orchids: More Pot and Colour Options

The butterfly orchid range has been one of our fastest-growing categories. The design work this season focused on the pot rather than the flower: ceramic, cement, glass and black or golden ceramic finishes that let the same orchid sit at different price points. Orchids are unusual in artificial plants because the pot is a large part of the perceived value, so giving buyers a choice of pot at a fixed flower specification widens the retail range without a new mould for the flower itself.

Christmas Trees: PE, PVC and Flocked

Christmas planning runs earlier than any other category. The current Christmas tree range covers full PE trees, PVC hinged trees, flocked and snowy finishes, pencil and automatic models, and mixed PE/PVC constructions with different branch counts. Buyers can specify height, tip count, branch construction and base type. Because trees are bulky, the practical conversations are usually about carton dimensions and how many units fit a container — our export team will size a load plan before you commit to quantities.

Grass Lawn and Landscape Items

Artificial grass lawn has moved from a garden-only product into interior and commercial display. The gardenia-leaf construction has proven popular with landscapers because it holds shape and resists fading outdoors, and it is now used in panels and tiles as well as single sheets. For buyers serving the landscaping and event market, this category pairs naturally with our artificial trees for full outdoor schemes.

Potted Flowers, Plants and Succulents

The potted flower, potted plant, snake plant, hanging plant and succulent ranges have been extended with additional heights and pot finishes rather than new species. In practice this is what most importers ask for — a category they already sell, at a size or price point they are missing. Extension work like this is fast because the mould already exists.

Spray and Bush Flowers: Colourway Refresh

In spray and bush artificial flowers, the season's work was mainly colour. Buyers told us that retail buyers were asking for softer, dustier tones alongside the traditional brights, so several best-selling constructions were re-produced in muted palettes. The flower shape is unchanged, which keeps the item number stable for repeat customers while offering a new colourway for the shelf.

What This Means for Your Next Order

A wide, well-maintained catalogue matters most on a trial order, because it lets you fill a mixed container from one supplier instead of splitting freight across several vendors. If you are building a spring or Christmas programme, send us your shortlist and target price and we will match it against the current range, flag which items are new and which are extensions, and quote with sampling times. Contact our export team to request the current catalogue and price list.

Orchids occupy a different position in the artificial plant market from most other flowers. A spray of artificial roses competes on volume and price; an artificial orchid is bought as a display piece and judged on realism, proportion and the pot it sits in. That makes the category more profitable for retailers and more demanding for importers. This guide covers what distinguishes a good orchid programme and what to specify when ordering.

Why Artificial Orchids Sell at a Premium

A live phalaenopsis lasts a few weeks and then needs careful care to flower again, which is why hotels, offices and home decorators increasingly buy the artificial version. Because the product replaces a premium living plant rather than a cheap bouquet, buyers accept a higher retail price — provided the item looks convincing. The perceived value sits in the flower's structure and the pot, so those are exactly the two things to specify carefully.

Flower Structure: Single Stem, Spray and 3D

Orchid construction varies more than in most categories. Single-stem items suit desk and shelf display, multi-stem sprays give volume for sideboards and reception areas, and 3D or "real touch" constructions use layered, slightly curved petals with visible veining to imitate the thickness of a real orchid. Our butterfly orchid range covers these constructions across several heights, and the difference between them is immediately visible when the items sit side by side.

The Pot Is Half the Product

In artificial orchids the pot carries a disproportionate share of the perceived value, and it is also the easiest variable to change without new tooling. Common options include ceramic in white, black, gold and marble-effect finishes, cement pots for a heavier contemporary look, and glass vessels for a lighter one. Because the flower specification can stay identical while the pot changes, offering several pot options lets a retailer cover multiple price points from one flower design — an efficient way to widen a range.

Heights, Flower Counts and Arrangement

Specify height and flower count as separate variables. A 20 cm single-flower item and a 75 cm multi-flower arrangement serve completely different spaces even though both are orchids, and flower count is the clearest driver of both cost and visual weight. For retail, a spread of heights that share a common style allows a coordinated display without duplicate designs competing on the shelf.

MOQ, Mixed Orders and Sampling

Orchid MOQ is usually quoted per design and per colourway. Because a retailer rarely wants a deep quantity of one orchid, mixed orders matter more in this category than in most: ask whether different pot finishes and heights can be combined toward the minimum. For custom pot finishes or a specific colourway, allow roughly five to ten days for sampling once the specification is approved, and keep a signed sample on file for repeat orders.

Packaging for a Fragile Item

Orchid petals and stems are more fragile than bush or spray flowers, and a crushed petal reads as a defect on a premium item. Ask for packaging that separates flower heads and supports the stem, and confirm how many pieces fit a carton — the carton dimensions drive freight cost, which matters more here because the item value is higher and margins are expected to hold. If your channel is e-commerce, specify mail-order protection rather than open display packaging.

Display and Merchandising Support

Because orchid buyers make decisions on appearance, merchandising support has real value. Ask whether the supplier can provide consistent photography across the range, and whether colours can be grouped into a coordinated palette so a retail display looks intentional rather than assembled. Our notes on potted plant trends explain how this category is positioned in modern interiors.

Build Your Orchid Range

Tell us the price points you sell at, the pot finishes you prefer and the heights your space allows, and our export team will assemble a mixed orchid range with a loading plan and sampling schedule. Contact our export team to request the current orchid catalogue, or browse the full product range to build a broader order.

For a first-time importer, a factory visit is the single most useful investment of two days. Photographs can be borrowed, websites can be polished, but a production floor cannot be faked for long. This guide explains how to plan a visit to an artificial flower factory in Zhejiang, China, what to prepare, and how to turn the trip into a signed order rather than a sightseeing tour.

Why Zhejiang Is the Base for Artificial Plants

Zhejiang Province is one of China's main clusters for artificial flowers, plants and home decoration. The region has a mature supply chain for the materials that matter — polyester and silk-like fabric, PE and PVC, plastic pots, foam soil and wire stems — which is why a source factory here can develop new moulds quickly and keep component cost low. Zhejiang Hansy Craft has produced artificial plants in the province since 2010, and our workshop and showroom are open to overseas buyers by appointment.

Before You Travel: Three Preparations

First, build a shortlist. Pull the item numbers or reference images you want to see and send them ahead so the samples are pulled before you arrive. Second, define your commercial frame: target retail price, packaging level, expected annual volume and destination port. Third, confirm the practical details in writing — the factory address, the contact person, the date, and whether the trip includes a showroom visit, a production line walkthrough or a sampling session. Buyers who arrive with a shortlist and a price target usually leave with a quotation they can act on.

What You Will See on the Floor

A well-run artificial flower factory is organised around five stages: mould making and injection, flower setting, assembly, quality inspection and export packing. Our factory page describes the equipment behind each stage, including the flower setting machines, frame injection machines and injection moulding machines that produce our own components. Watch for two things in particular — whether components are made in-house or bought in, and whether inspection stations exist as a separate step rather than being folded into packing.

Bring Your Own Sample and Compare

The most valuable thing you can carry to a factory visit is a competitor's sample or your own best-selling item. Put it beside the quotation item under the same daylight, compare petal thickness, colour depth, stem rigidity and the finish at the edges, and ask what material and process each one uses. This comparison is the fastest way to understand where cost differences actually come from, and it usually shifts the conversation from "how much" to "what specification".

Discuss Customisation While You Are There

Custom work is easier to agree face to face. Walk the showroom, pick the pot material and height you want, and ask what can be changed without a new mould — flower species, colourway, pot finish, packaging and barcode labelling can often be adjusted on an existing design. Items that need a new mould should be quoted with a sampling schedule; typical custom sampling takes five to ten days after artwork and specification approval.

Turn the Visit Into a Trial Order

A visit is also the right time to agree a trial order. Many importers start with a mixed container of several designs to test the market before committing to volume. Discuss the MOQ per design and per colour, whether items can be combined to reach it, packaging for your sales channel, and the payment terms for a first order. Confirm the master carton size, pieces per carton and net and gross weight, because those figures drive your freight calculation.

If You Cannot Travel

Not every buyer can visit, and we do not treat a visit as a precondition for working together. We can arrange a live video walkthrough of the workshop and showroom, send HD videos of selected items and courier physical samples to your office. Third-party inspections from agencies such as SGS, Bureau Veritas or TUV are welcome before shipment, and we can provide production photos and packing details throughout the order.

Book Your Visit

Summer and autumn are the busiest visiting seasons, so it is worth booking a few weeks ahead. Tell us your dates, your shortlist and the categories you want to review, and our export team will prepare the samples and a visit schedule. Contact our export team to arrange a factory visit, or read more about quality assurance and buyer verification before you arrive.

Tariff classification is one of the least glamorous parts of importing artificial plants and one of the most consequential. The code you declare determines the duty rate you pay, whether a trade agreement applies, and whether your entry clears without delay. This article explains how artificial flowers are classified, what documentation a typical entry needs, and the mistakes that most often cause a hold-up at customs.

The Main HS Heading for Artificial Flowers

Artificial flowers, foliage and fruit — together with articles made from them, such as wreaths and arrangements — sit under heading 6702 of the Harmonized System. The heading covers goods that imitate natural flowers or foliage and are made of materials such as plastics, textiles or paper. Fresh cut flowers and flower buds for bouquets belong to a different heading, 0603, which is why an artificial product must never be declared under a fresh-flower code.

Subheadings: Plastics or Other Materials

Within 6702 the first split is by material. The 6702.10 subheading covers articles of plastics, while 6702.90 covers articles of other materials — the category that typically applies to polyester and other textile-based artificial flowers and foliage. Because a single item can combine plastic stems, fabric petals and a ceramic pot, classification normally follows the material that gives the product its essential character. That judgement is why material composition should be documented by the supplier rather than guessed by the importer.

Why the Material Split Matters

Duty rates are set by the importing country and can differ between subheadings, and some national tariff schedules and trade agreements treat them differently. Getting the split right is therefore not a formality: it decides what you pay and whether a preferential rate under a free trade agreement is available. If you are importing at volume, ask your customs broker to confirm the correct code for your specific product before the first shipment, not after.

Composition Documents From the Supplier

To classify accurately, you need to know what the product is made of and in what proportion. Ask the supplier for a material breakdown per item covering the flower head, stem, foliage and pot. A supplier who produces its own moulded components can state this precisely, which is one practical advantage of buying from a source factory. Keep the breakdown on file — it also supports any compliance testing your market requires.

The Documents a Typical Entry Needs

A standard sea-freight entry usually requires a commercial invoice, a packing list, the bill of lading, and — depending on the destination — a certificate of origin and any product compliance documentation. The invoice should describe the goods in terms that match the declared code, listing item references, quantities, unit values and the Incoterm. Descriptions such as "gift items" or "decorative goods" invite questions; a clear description of artificial flowers or artificial foliage does not.

Common Causes of Delays

Most clearance problems trace back to three things: a description on the invoice that does not match the declared code, missing or inconsistent carton and weight data between the packing list and the actual load, and a valuation that does not reconcile with the payment terms. A fourth cause is a compliance requirement — a labelling rule or a material restriction — that was discovered after production rather than at the inquiry stage. All four are avoidable with preparation.

Plan Compliance at the Inquiry Stage

Tell the supplier your destination market when you request a quotation, not when you book freight. Compliance requirements differ between regions, and some tests add time to the production schedule. Our guide to importing artificial flowers from China sets out the full sequence, and our quality assurance page explains the inspection and documentation we can provide.

Practical Checklist

Before your first shipment, confirm four things in writing: the correct HS code for your product's material composition, the duty treatment that applies in your market, the full document set your broker requires, and any market-specific compliance or labelling rule. With those settled, clearance becomes routine and the cost of the goods is predictable before they leave China.

Need Composition Details for Classification?

We can supply a material breakdown for any item in the range, together with packing lists and carton data to support your entry. Send us the item numbers you are importing and your destination market, and our export team will prepare the documentation your broker needs. Contact our export team to request composition details, or browse the product catalogue first.

Ordering artificial flowers wholesale is a long-term decision rather than a one-off purchase. The designs you approve this season usually stay in your catalogue for several years, so the checks you make before the first order decide how smoothly every repeat order will run. This guide covers the questions professional importers ask before they commit to a supplier.

Start With the Product Range, Not the Price

The first thing to review is whether a supplier actually manufactures the range you sell. A narrow catalogue forces you to split one order across several vendors, which raises freight cost and makes colour consistency harder to control. Look for a supplier that covers the categories you need under one roof — for example spray artificial flowers, bush flowers, butterfly orchids, potted plants, artificial trees, grass lawn and Christmas items. A broad range also means you can mix designs in a single container, which matters most on a first trial order.

Material and Finish

Two artificial flowers can look identical in a photo and behave very differently in a shop. Polyester and silk-like fabrics give a soft, natural petal with fine veining; PE and PU are firmer, hold their shape better outdoors and resist fading; plastic and foam components are typically used for stems, berries and soil. Ask which material each item uses, whether the colour is printed or dyed through, and how the item is finished at the edges. Our comparison of silk and PE artificial flowers explains how the choice affects retail positioning and price.

Colour Accuracy and Sample Approval

Colour is the most common source of dispute in artificial flower trade. Screens vary, and a red that looks warm on your monitor can arrive cool in daylight. Before a bulk order, request physical samples, view them under both daylight and shop lighting, and approve the exact item number in writing. Keep a signed sample on file with the supplier — that reference is what protects you on repeat orders eighteen months later. If a design is customised, confirm the approved colour swatch is recorded in the production file.

Packaging That Matches Your Sales Channel

Wholesale buyers rarely sell in the same way. A chain store needs shelf-ready cartons with a barcode and product label; an e-commerce seller needs mail-order boxes that survive the last mile without crushing petals; a garden centre may want items displayed in trays. Tell the supplier your channel before they quote, because packaging changes both the unit cost and the carton dimensions, and carton dimensions drive your freight calculation. Confirm the master carton size, pieces per carton and net/gross weight per item.

MOQ, Lead Time and Payment Terms

These three numbers decide whether an order is workable. Ask for the MOQ per design and per colour, and whether different designs can be combined to reach it. Ask for lead time broken into two figures: production time and shipping time. Ask which payment terms apply and whether a first order can be secured with a deposit. A supplier that answers these plainly is usually a supplier that can plan production properly. Typical terms for artificial flowers are covered in our wholesale FAQ.

Supplier Checks: Factory, Capacity and Inspection

Photos of a showroom do not prove production capability. Ask whether the supplier owns the factory or trades through a middleman, what equipment and workforce they run, and whether they accept third-party inspection such as SGS, Bureau Veritas or TUV before shipment. If you cannot visit in person, request a live video walk-through of the production line and the loading area. Our factory page shows the machinery and capacity behind our own production.

What to Send in Your First Inquiry

A well-prepared inquiry usually gets a usable quotation within a day. Include the item numbers or reference images you are interested in, the estimated quantity per item, your target market, your preferred packaging level, and the destination port. If you are still exploring, send your company profile and website instead — a supplier can then propose a range and a rough budget rather than waiting for a full specification.

Next Steps

Once these checks are complete, the ordering process becomes routine: approve samples, place the order, follow production photos, confirm inspection and book shipment. If you would like to test the process with a mixed trial order, contact our export team with your item list and destination port and we will reply with a quotation and lead time.

Importing artificial flowers from China is a well-established route for wholesalers, chain stores and e-commerce sellers, but it rewards preparation. The buyers who run into trouble are rarely the ones who chose the wrong factory — they are the ones who left a specification, a test requirement or a carton dimension to chance. This guide walks through the practical sequence, from first inquiry to goods arriving at your port.

Step 1: Define the Specification Before You Shop

Before contacting suppliers, write down what you are actually buying. Artificial flowers vary enormously in material, and material drives both price and durability. Decide whether you need soft silk-style petals for retail display, firmer PE or PU components for outdoor and high-traffic use, or plastic and foam for stems, berries and soil. Add the height, colour family, pot type and packaging level you require. A supplier can only quote accurately against a specification, and a vague inquiry returns a vague price.

Step 2: Shortlist Manufacturers, Not Traders

China's artificial plant industry is clustered in a few provinces, with Zhejiang and Guangdong among the main bases. The important distinction is whether you are dealing with a factory that produces its own components or a trading company that sub-contracts. Ask directly, and ask follow-up questions — what equipment they run, whether they own the moulds, how many workers are on the setting line. A factory page with real equipment detail and a willingness to host a video walkthrough is a stronger signal than a glossy catalogue.

Step 3: Sample Before You Commit

Screens misrepresent colour and photographs hide finish. Request physical samples of your shortlisted items, view them in daylight and under the lighting of your sales channel, and compare them against a competitor's product or your current best-seller. For custom designs, expect a sampling time of roughly five to ten days depending on complexity. Approve the sample in writing and ask the supplier to keep a signed golden sample on file — that reference is what protects you on repeat orders.

Step 4: Agree Incoterms, Price and Payment

Confirm whether the quotation is EXW, FOB or CIF, because they place different costs on each side. FOB is the most common starting point for importers, as it includes inland transport and export clearance to the port of loading. Agree the payment structure at the same time as the price — first orders are commonly secured with a deposit against a balance before shipment — and confirm the currency and the exchange-rate basis if the quote is in RMB.

Step 5: Confirm Packaging and Carton Data

This step is where freight budgets are won or lost. Before production, obtain the master carton dimensions, the number of pieces per carton, and the net and gross weight per item. Artificial plants are bulky rather than heavy, so carton volume usually determines how many units fit a container and therefore your freight cost per unit. If your channel needs shelf-ready or mail-order packaging, specify it now, because it changes both the unit cost and the carton size.

Step 6: Quality Control and Inspection

Agree the inspection method in advance. A standard three-stage process covers incoming material checks, on-line inspection during assembly, and a final random inspection before packing against the approved sample. For higher-value or compliance-sensitive orders, arrange a third-party inspection from an agency such as SGS, Bureau Veritas or TUV before shipment. Ask for production photos during the run so you can monitor progress without travelling.

Step 7: Shipping, Documents and Clearance

Goods ship by sea for volume, or by air and express for samples and urgent top-ups. Your freight forwarder will need the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and, depending on the market, a certificate of origin and any compliance documentation. Correct tariff classification matters — see our guide to HS codes and customs clearance for the codes that apply to artificial flowers and foliage.

Step 8: Receive, Inspect and Reorder

Inspect the shipment against the approved sample soon after arrival, and keep one unit from each order as your own reference. Any issue is fastest to resolve with photographs, the item number, the quantity affected and the shipping mark. Once a programme is running, repeat orders become routine, and the approved sample and written specification are what keep colour and quality stable season after season.

Start Your First Order

The sequence above is repeatable, and a first trial order — a mixed container of several designs — is the cheapest way to test a supplier and a market at once. Tell us your shortlist, target market and destination port, and our export team will quote with carton data, sampling times and a loading plan. Contact our export team to begin, or read the wholesale FAQ for answers to the most common first-order questions.

Autumn is the busiest season in the artificial plant calendar. European and North American buyers are finalising spring and Christmas programmes, while our own production lines are running the new season's moulds. It is also the time of year when the largest home, garden and gift trade fairs take place in China — and that makes autumn the most efficient moment to meet our export team in person.

Why Autumn Fairs Matter for Artificial Plants

An artificial flower programme is usually planned six to nine months ahead of the selling season. Buyers who inspect samples in October and November can lock in moulds, colourways and packaging before the Chinese New Year slowdown, and still have goods on the water in time for a spring reset or a Christmas build-up. Leaving the decision to spring compresses the sampling window and pushes production into the factory's busiest months.

What We Are Showing This Season

Our fair and showroom line-up follows the categories that wholesale buyers ask for most: spray artificial flowers and bush artificial flowers, butterfly orchids, potted flowers, artificial trees, succulents, artificial grass lawn and a full Christmas tree range in PE, PVC and flocked finishes. New moulds and colourways developed during the year are presented alongside proven best-sellers, so you can compare a fresh design against an existing one on the same table.

Book a Meeting Before the Fair

Fair calendars fill up quickly, and the most productive meetings are the ones with a prepared shortlist. If you are attending a show this autumn, send us the item numbers or reference images you are interested in, your target market and your estimated quantities. We will bring matching samples to the booth and prepare indicative pricing in advance, so the meeting is spent on decisions rather than introductions. You can also tell us which fair you plan to attend and we will arrange a time and hall number by email.

Combine the Fair With a Factory Visit

Zhejiang is a short trip from the main trade fair venues, and many buyers combine the two. A factory visit lets you see the flower setting machines, injection moulding lines and the three-stage inspection process behind your order, and it is the fastest way to confirm that a supplier manufactures rather than trades. Our factory page shows what you will see on the floor, and we can arrange a live video walkthrough for buyers who cannot travel.

Sampling Can Start the Same Week

One advantage of meeting in person is speed. Custom sampling normally takes five to ten days depending on complexity, and a decision made at the fair can often be put into the sampling queue the same week. If you approve a colourway or a pot material on the spot, we record it in the production file and keep a signed golden sample on file — the reference that keeps repeat orders consistent eighteen months later.

If You Cannot Attend

Not every buyer can travel in a given season, and that should not delay a programme. We can send HD videos of selected items, courier physical samples to your office, and run a live video tour of the workshop and showroom at a time that suits your time zone. The sample itself is still the only reliable way to judge colour and finish, so we recommend requesting physical samples before any bulk commitment.

Plan Your Autumn Meeting

Whether you are preparing a Christmas programme, refreshing a garden centre range or testing a new category, autumn is the moment to compare suppliers side by side. Tell us which fair you are attending and which categories you are sourcing, and our export team will prepare the samples and pricing you need. Contact our export team to book a meeting, or browse the product catalogue first to build your shortlist.

Weddings are the most predictable peak in the floral calendar and one of the hardest to supply well. Demand is concentrated into a few months, colour decisions are made by a couple rather than a buyer, and a late delivery cannot be rescheduled. For event suppliers, rental companies and wedding decorators, that combination makes artificial flowers attractive — but only if the order is planned correctly.

Why Artificial Works for Weddings

Fresh flowers for a wedding must be conditioned, assembled and delivered within a narrow window, and anything that wilts in the ceremony heat cannot be recovered. Artificial arrangements are made in advance, inspected calmly, and delivered ready to install. They also allow a couple to approve the exact look weeks before the date and receive precisely that item, which removes the sample-versus-delivery risk that fresh flowers always carry.

The Categories Wedding Buyers Order Most

Wedding programmes usually combine several categories: spray artificial flowers for arch and aisle work, bush flowers for dense arrangements and centrepieces, hanging plants for ceiling and gazebo installations, and orchids for premium table work. Roses, peonies, hydrangea, eucalyptus and gypsophila are the species that recur most in briefs, so a supplier with these in several colourways can cover most of a season.

Colour Matching Is the Whole Job

Weddings are usually organised around a two or three colour palette, and a shade that is slightly off will be visible in every photograph. Confirm colour against physical samples rather than screens, and where a palette must match fabric, ask for a sample of the flower alongside the fabric swatch under the same light. For custom work, agree the exact shade in writing and keep a signed sample on file, so that a repeat order for the same client the following season is identical.

Volume, MOQ and Mixed Orders

Wedding work is fragmented: a single event may need small quantities of several designs. This is where MOQ becomes the practical issue. Ask the supplier for the MOQ per design and per colour, and whether different designs can be combined toward it. A mixed container lets an event supplier stock a broad palette of colours and species without holding a deep quantity of any single item, which suits a business that must answer briefs on short notice.

Lead Time and Season Planning

Wedding demand clusters around spring and summer in most markets, and late summer to autumn in others. Because production of artificial flowers is not seasonal but shipping is, the safe approach is to build stock in the quiet months. Place the season's order two to three months before demand peaks, allowing for production, inspection and sea freight. Suppliers who can schedule production flexibly are worth more than a slightly lower unit price when a season is approaching.

Packaging, Storage and Reuse

Event suppliers reuse stock, so packaging and storage matter as much as the item. Ask for cartons that keep sprays straight and protect petals, and confirm that arrangements can be stored flat. Because artificial flowers do not perish, a set of arrangements bought for one season becomes inventory for the next — a significant commercial advantage for rental businesses. Specify items that disassemble and re-form easily, and order spares of the most fragile components.

What to Send in an Inquiry

Include the species and colour palette you need, the approximate quantity per design, the number of events you are likely to cover, your market and your delivery window. If a brief is still forming, send reference images instead — a supplier can propose a matched range and a loading plan from images alone. Our wholesale FAQ covers MOQ, sampling and lead time in more detail.

Build Your Wedding Range

Wedding work rewards a supplier who can answer a brief quickly with the right colours in stock rather than a catalogue of near misses. Tell us the palettes and species you sell most, and our export team will build a mixed range with a loading plan sized to your season. Contact our export team to start planning, or browse the product catalogue for the current range.

Most artificial flowers sold internationally are standard designs held in stock catalogues. Custom work sits alongside that business rather than replacing it: buyers who need a specific colour, height, pot or theme order from a factory that can develop the item and then keep producing it consistently. This guide explains how custom design projects actually run from the buyer's side, and what to prepare before starting.

What Can Be Customised

Customisation falls into four levels, and it helps to know which one your project needs before approaching a supplier.

1. Colour and finish changes

The simplest and fastest option: an existing item is produced in a new colourway or with a different surface finish. No new mould is required, so the development cost is low and lead time is close to a standard order.

2. Size and proportion changes

An existing design is scaled or restructured — a taller stem, a denser bush, a shorter spray for a specific vase. This usually means re-cutting components or adjusting the assembly rather than building new tooling.

3. Combination and packaging customisation

Individual designs are assembled into a mixed arrangement, or the item is packed in a branded box, tray or display unit. Common for retail chains and e-commerce sellers who need shelf-ready presentation.

4. New moulds and original designs

A genuinely new flower or leaf requires mould development. This is the highest-commitment route, normally justified when the buyer plans a large or multi-season volume.

Why Buyers Choose a Factory Rather Than a Trading Company

Custom work depends on three things: sample-making speed, control over the components, and the ability to repeat the result later. A factory that moulds its own parts can adjust a sample without waiting on an outside supplier, and can document the specification so the tenth order matches the first. A trading company can often quote faster, but has less room to change a design and less control when a detail needs to be corrected. Our factory page describes the production chain we keep in-house, from design and mould making through to flower setting, inspection and export packing.

How the Sample Process Works

A custom project normally follows five steps. First, the buyer sends a brief: reference images, the intended market, target price and quantity. Second, the supplier confirms which items are feasible and quotes a sample cost and timeline. Third, a physical sample is produced and shipped. Fourth, the buyer reviews colour, height and construction in daylight and requests adjustments if needed. Fifth, the approved sample is signed off and kept on file as the production standard. Allowing for one round of revision is realistic; expecting a perfect first sample is not.

What to Prepare Before You Ask for a Quote

The quality of the brief determines the speed of the answer. Prepare the following and the first reply will usually contain a workable quotation.

Reference material

Photographs, physical samples you already own, or existing item numbers from another catalogue. Include colour references where possible, not just a description.

Commercial parameters

Estimated quantity for the first order and the expected annual volume, target selling price, and the destination market. These decide whether mould development is economic.

Technical requirements

Height and spread, material preference, pot type and size, packaging format, and any labelling or barcode requirement. If the item must comply with a specific market regulation, say so at the beginning rather than at inspection.

MOQ, Tooling and Lead Time on Custom Items

Custom work carries different economics from standard catalogue orders. Colour and size changes normally run at standard MOQ levels, because no new tooling is involved. New moulds require a minimum volume to justify the development cost, and that volume is agreed case by case. Lead time is longer on a first custom order because sample approval sits in front of production; once the sample is approved, repeat orders run on normal production timelines. We set out typical quantities and timelines in our wholesale FAQ.

Protecting Consistency on Repeat Orders

The value of a custom design is that it can be reordered. Protect that by recording the approved specification in writing — item reference, colour code, height, material, pot and packaging — and by asking the supplier to retain the approved sample. Before each repeat order, request current production photos against the approved sample. This costs nothing and prevents the slow drift in colour and proportion that otherwise appears across seasons.

Custom Projects and Quality Verification

Because custom items cannot be compared against an existing catalogue entry, inspection matters more, not less. Confirm that the supplier accepts third-party inspection such as SGS, Bureau Veritas or TUV before shipment, and that inspection will be carried out against the approved sample rather than a general standard. Our export team can arrange inspection documentation and test reports for regulated markets on request.

Next Steps

If you have a design brief or a reference sample, send it to us with your target quantity, market and price band. We will confirm feasibility, quote sample cost and timeline, and start development once the brief is agreed. Standard and custom items can be combined in one container, so a first custom order does not have to stand alone.