Sahid Nahim, the founder of New Bloom Solutions (NBS) and host of The Bloom Show, was one of those honored during the Society of American Florists’ (SAF) 2025 Stars of the Industry Awards ceremony held on August 14. He received the Society of American Florists' Rising Star Award, which recognizes progressive young professionals who prove creativity, innovation, persistence, and leadership while showing potential to make a lasting impact on the floral industry. Sahid shared the honor with Sam Bowles, the Director of Operations at Allen's Flowers in San Diego.
In his acceptance speech, Sahid, nearly at a loss for words since the award came as a complete surprise, simply expressed his gratitude, saying he was honored and thankful. And that it meant a lot to see his efforts to uplift the industry and build community being recognized. He emphasized that community is vital and that "we are all stronger together." With a smile, he added a lighthearted joke—that he’d have more to say on The Bloom Show.
About the Award and the Recognition
The Rising Star Award celebrates creative, innovative, and forward-thinking young professionals who demonstrate tenacity and leadership—qualities that Sahid has consistently shown throughout his career. As founder of New Bloom Solutions and host of The Bloom Show, he has spent the last five years (and twenty years in the industry overall) doing something the floral world really needed: creating connections and inspiring innovation in the industry.
Through New Bloom Solutions, he has built bridges between farms, wholesalers, florists, and distributors who were previously working in silos. The Bloom Together Initiative has brought together several companies and raised thousands for nonprofits like Seed Your Future and the American Floral Endowment. Plus, he has championed underrepresented voices through Women's Day roundtables and platforms for groups like The Black Girl Florist collective.
His work spans the Americas, helping international companies enter the U.S. market while connecting floral businesses across borders. But perhaps most importantly, he has achieved all this with a philosophy that prioritizes community over competition.
As he says:
"I genuinely love seeing others succeed, even competitors or those I once inspired, who are now in the same space. That means the industry is expanding, and that's a win for all of us."
What This Recognition Really Means
The Rising Star Award is not just about individual achievement. It speaks to where the floral industry is headed and what it values. Essentially, in honoring the award winners, the SAF Awards Committee is, in part, showing that the future belongs to connectors, collaborators, and community builders. This matters in an industry that has traditionally been fragmented.
Some growers, say in South America, have little direct connection with florists in regions like the U.S. Innovative startups struggle to find their place in established ecosystems. Technology solutions remain siloed instead of being shared across the industry. The old model of working in isolation is, therefore, not just limiting but potentially destructive in the current interconnected marketplace.
The recognition, hence, means a key shift toward a more collaborative industry. It says that the industry values leaders who see the big picture—who understand that when one segment of the floral world thrives, everyone benefits. Sahid’s success shows that one can build a thriving business while lifting competitors, innovate while honoring tradition, and think globally while supporting local communities.
A New Kind of Leadership
The award also tells of a change in the industry. Sahid embodies a new kind of leader—one who combines deep industry knowledge with modern marketing expertise, digital fluency, and a global perspective that spans the Americas. His background in grassroots marketing, paired with an innate ability to spot connections between people, has allowed him to approach industry challenges differently. He is more focused on expanding opportunities for everyone, rather than competing for a bigger slice of the existing market. Instead of hoarding connections, he creates platforms like The Bloom Show to share all about the industry widely.
This approach comes in handy, especially at a time when the floral industry faces important transitions: e-commerce has changed how flowers are bought and sold, sustainability concerns are reshaping growing practices, new technologies are emerging constantly, and consumer preferences continue evolving. In this environment, under the prevailing circumstances, collaborative leadership becomes much more essential and valuable.
Yet, the Rising Star Award recognizes leaders who do not just adapt to change but help create it. Sahid's work has shown that success in the modern floral industry requires building ecosystems and showing emerging professionals that there is power in bringing people together, that innovation thrives when knowledge is shared, and that sustainable success comes from lifting others as one rises.
Inspiring Others Throughout the Floral Industry
Perhaps the most exciting part of the recognition is its inspiration for others throughout the industry. More than just celebrating past achievements, such awards signal what organizations want to see more of, and encourage similar approaches across the sector. Recognizing one who has made connections and community building his life's work shows the values that SAF's Awards Committee feels inspire success in the industry.
The acknowledgment also endorses an approach that prioritizes collaboration over competition, community building over self-centered achievement, and shared growth over zero-sum thinking. It shows that real change rarely comes from individual heroes working in silos, but from networks of people supporting each other, sharing resources and ideas, and building on collectiveness, which validates the idea that when one focuses on connecting others and building communities, both recognition and success tend to follow naturally.
Sharing the Rising Star Award with Sam (of Allen's Flowers) and being recognized alongside SAF Floriculture Hall of Fame inductee Augusto Solano, the President of the Association of Colombian Flower Exporters (Asocolflores), Sahid was characteristically gracious in his acceptance, extending his compliments to all award winners, and emphasizing the industry's progress' collective nature. "What an honor to be recognized," he concluded. "It means a lot to me to do something to uplift the industry. Community is so important. And we are all stronger together."
