Bay Area florist says cost of Valentine's Day roses up 40% this year amid supply chain issues

SAN MATEO, Calif. (KGO) -- Showing your love is going to cost a bit more this Valentine's Day. The price of roses is up compared to last year, if people even remember to buy them. Florists say with it falling on a Monday and the day after the Super Bowl, sales are a bit impacted.

But it is still a busy day. The owner of San Mateo Florist ordered 7,000 roses for this Valentine's Day and brought in friends and family members from as far away as Texas to help him. Even though the pandemic has made for strange times, he still expects plenty of customers will still come in for flowers.

"Pandemic or no pandemic, they still come in to show their sweethearts they love them. Pandemic doesn't stop love," said Ed Sasounian, President of San Mateo Florist.

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But the pandemic does make for new challenges. Including the fear of illness.

"My worst worry this Valentine's Day was being exposed to COVID because we would have to shut it down altogether. But thank god it hasn't happened."

Supply chain issues added another layer of stress. Sasounian ordered 18,000 glass containers for this day and for awhile it looked like they weren't going to make it on time. They did, but then there was concern about getting the roses that would go into the vases.

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"Some people could not get roses on time. They have to come from Ecuador and all the flight delays and everything is just a chain of problems. But we got it. Everything is here ready to go."

But all this adds up. Sasounian says the cost of the roses he buys is up 40%.