A New Bloom Media Original — Bringing floral innovation beyond the convention floor, with Antonia Gardens named the inaugural Community Favorite and Natura Moderna Riviera finishing as runner-up.
What if discovering standout floral products at an international convention wasn’t limited to those walking the exhibition floor?
That idea inspired New Bloom Media to introduce the NBM Community Bloom Vote, an original digital-first floral discovery and voting initiative launched at Expo Flor Ecuador 2026.
Originally introduced on Instagram as New Bloom Media’s People’s Choice Poll, the initiative now carries its official identity: NBM Community Bloom Vote — A New Bloom Media Original.
Created and produced exclusively by New Bloom Media, the initiative brings independently selected floral products to digital audiences, inviting the broader floral community to discover, compare, and vote for their favorites through interactive social media matchups.
The inaugural edition featured products from 11 companies and five elimination rounds. When the final votes were counted, Antonia Gardens, bred by Schreurs and exhibited by Elite Flowers, emerged as the Community Favorite, while Natura Moderna Riviera, exhibited by Floraprima, finished as runner-up.
A Different Approach to Convention Coverage
Expo Flor Ecuador 2026 showcased the breeding expertise, creativity, and investment driving innovation across the international floral industry.
But the opportunity to discover these products shouldn’t end when the convention closes.
Rather than focusing exclusively on traditional convention interviews and recaps, New Bloom Media wanted to introduce another way for the industry to experience exhibitions—one that encourages discovery, interaction, and community participation.
During Expo Flor, Sahid Nahim, founder of New Bloom Solutions and New Bloom Media, explored the exhibition floor, photographing products that stood out for their appearance, distinctive characteristics, innovation, and potential commercial appeal.
With more than 20 years of floral industry experience and having twice served as a judge for the Society of American Florists’ Outstanding Varieties Competition, Nahim independently selected products for the initiative.
The featured companies did not nominate their products or determine the selections.
Held from October 7–18, 2026, voting took place through Instagram Stories and was promoted across New Bloom Solutions and NYC Flower Market, whose digital channels have a combined following of more than 25,000.
The result was an interactive experience that extended product visibility beyond the exhibition floor and invited participating audiences to recognize their favorites.
Meet the Inaugural Community Favorites
Antonia Gardens advanced through the elimination rounds before securing the most votes in the final matchup, earning the inaugural NBM Community Favorite recognition.
Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time the garden rose had attracted industry recognition.
In 2024, Antonia Gardens received a Red Ribbon at the Society of American Florists’ Outstanding Varieties Competition, where it was exhibited by Flores Verdes in the Cut Garden Rose category.
Two years later, the same named variety captured the preference of participating digital audiences through New Bloom Media’s initiative.
Congratulations to Elite Flowers and Schreurs on this recognition!
Natura Moderna Riviera also captured audience interest throughout the campaign, advancing to the final matchup.
The broader Natura Moderna collection has received notable recognition in professional floral competitions.
At SAF’s Outstanding Varieties Competition, Moderna Dolce earned Best in Show in 2025, while Natura Moderna Limoncello received Best in Class in 2026. Both were exhibited by Rosaprima.
Although these awards were presented to different varieties within the collection, the connection offers an interesting perspective on products that attract attention through different forms of industry recognition.
Congratulations to Floraprima on its runner-up finish!
Community Engagement and Industry Recognition
One interesting observation from the inaugural NBM Community Bloom Vote was the connection between its finalists and previous recognitions from the Society of American Florists (SAF).
While the voting results cannot be directly compared with professional judging, they offer an additional perspective on how floral products capture attention.
New Bloom Solutions and New Bloom Media proudly support SAF and its important role in advancing the floral industry. Its Outstanding Varieties Competition provides an established platform for recognizing product quality, breeding innovation, and growing expertise. We encourage floral companies to participate in and support these valuable industry programs.
The NBM Community Bloom Vote was created to complement, not compete with, established industry competitions. Its purpose is different: to bring selected floral products to broader digital audiences and encourage discovery and participation.
Both approaches help celebrate the innovation and people behind the flowers.
Recognizing the 11 Featured Companies
The inaugural NBM Community Bloom Vote featured independently selected products from 11 companies represented at Expo Flor Ecuador 2026:
Elite Flowers,
United Selections,
Ball SB Cut Flowers,
Floraprima,
Native Blooms Flowers,
De Ruiter Innovations,
Josarflor,
Plantec,
Kolster,
Florisol & Co., and
Cananvalle Roses.
Each selection offered an opportunity to introduce audiences to distinctive flowers while highlighting the research, breeding, growing expertise, and investment behind their development.
Although two products emerged as finalists, the initiative was never intended to determine which flower was objectively the best. Instead, it invited the community to discover products and express its preferences.
The Beginning of the NBM Community Bloom Vote
With its inaugural edition at Expo Flor Ecuador 2026, New Bloom Media has established the foundation for an original, digital-first convention media initiative.
Created and launched in October 2026, the Community Bloom Vote combines independent product discovery, industry expertise, and community participation to extend the value of convention coverage beyond the exhibition floor.
Looking ahead, New Bloom Media plans to continue developing the initiative at future industry conventions, bringing more floral products to digital communities and creating additional opportunities for discovery, visibility, and engagement.
As we continue developing the NBM Community Bloom Vote, we welcome floral breeders, growers, and suppliers interested in having their products considered for future editions.
Would you like to participate or have your floral products featured? We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at connect@newbloomsolutions.com to express your interest.
Thank you to all 11 featured companies, NYC Flower Market for helping distribute the campaign, and everyone who participated in the inaugural vote.
Congratulations once again to Antonia Gardens, our first Community Favorite, and Natura Moderna Riviera, our runner-up.
Disclaimer: The NBM Community Bloom Vote is an independent digital audience-engagement initiative created and organized by New Bloom Media. It is not an official award or competition of Expo Flor Ecuador or the Society of American Florists. Results reflect preferences expressed by participating Instagram audiences and do not represent professional quality evaluations or statistically representative market research.
