Personalisation is the key as funerals shift away from formality to become celebrations of life

Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 20/09/2016


New research has revealed that there is an increasing public demand for out of the ordinary funeral transport and flowers, as people look to have a greater say on planning and personalising their own send-off.

A survey of Central England Co-operative Funeralcare colleagues reported that they are now, more than ever, receiving requests from families to personalise all elements of funerals in a bid to make each service unique to the person involved.

Some of the most recent examples from the past 12 months include a parrot themed coffin, order of service stationery designed in the shape of tractor for a farmer, floral displays in the shape of a glass of Baileys and even funerals performed with the Senior Funeral Director wearing traditional Highland dress surrounded by pipers.

This shift towards personalisation has also coincided with a notable rise in people opting to sign up to pre-paid funeral plans or to fill out a funeral wishes form to ensure they get the tailored send-off that they want and also to ensure that the costs do not fall on their family following their death.

Kiran Bhogal, Senior Funeral Director at Central England Co-operative, spoke of how the personal touch is on the rise when it comes to funerals as part of a special series of films produced to highlight the work of the Funeralcare team.

She said: “There’s the dress code. Some people don’t want any of the mourners to wear anything black – especially if the service is a remembrance of life. The deceased might have had a favourite colour, so they let everybody know the colour scheme. We try to wear the colour theme too. There might also be themed balloons, flowers, buttonholes or pin badges for certain charities.”

The rise of pre-paid funerals is also something that Kiran has seen increase massively in recent years.

She added that it is a way people can have control over how they will be remembered and manage the cost.

She said: “Certainly we would advise people to pre-plan if there’s something specific that they would like for their funeral service. The ideas can be written down and we will endeavour to meet these requests at the time of need for the chosen services. The other consideration is that pre-planning lessens the financial burden and decision making for your next of kin. A pre-planned funeral means that the family can take some comfort from the fact that the person who’s passed away is having their wishes met.”

Clients and family members can now personalise more or less every part of a funeral.

One of the main areas that people like to express their own personality is through the choice of coffin. Central England co-operative has introduced a Colourful Coffin funeral plan to make it easy for those wishing to personalise the coffin. People can design their own coffin in advance, include the emblem of a favourite sports team or even have a replica of Doctor Who’s Tardis.

Flowers can also be shaped into many things including belongings such as golf balls to motorbikes.

A particular love for a sporting team can mean that personalisation can go to a whole other level, with the Funeralcare team in Chesterfield working with Chesterfield FC to offer football-theme funerals. 

This can include arranging for the cortege to drive around the stadium, a floral wreath in the club colours, a memorial service at the club’s memorial garden at the ground and the option of having ashes interred within the memorial garden.

Mourners are also now more likely than ever to dispense with the traditional hearse, instead turning to vehicles such as Central England Co-operative’s rocket hearse, which was originally a Triumph Rocket III motorcycle. The business also has recently invested in a new fleet of silver vehicles including hearses and limousines.
Personalisation can even go further with some families choosing to transform a lock of hair from a loved one into a memorial diamond set in a piece of jewellery or even ashes into a glass ornament

Pat Amos turned to Central England Co-operative after her husband passed away and was so impressed with the service that she opted to purchase a pre-paid plan.

She said: “I thought it was a great thing to do. It allows you to say exactly what you would like to do and there is nothing to be afraid of.
“They are there for you – and Central England Co-operative was always there for us.”

People can watch the special suite of films by visiting https://www.centralengland.coop/funeral-services or to find out more about personalised funerals and pre-paid plans visit http://www.prepaidfunerals.coop/ or call 0800 454 552.

Sidebar

Six alternative requests for funerals at Central England Co-operative

Funeral Directors are seeing higher demand for alternative options for services than ever before, with the some of the requests over the last twelve months as follows:
1. Pictures of loved ones on memorial stones – ranging from actual images to drawings.
2. Funerals conducted in highland attire and pipers playing music at funerals.
3. Personalised coffins such as one themed around a parrot. 
4. A coffin based around the solar system that featured planets. The accompanying flowers were all in the shape of stars. The family also had a special star flower arrangement made with each of the five prongs featuring a message from the client’s five brothers.
5. Different vehicles used such as hearses including a Volkswagen campervan, HGV lorry and white horse and carriage.
6. Flowers in the design of a glass full of Baileys.

Notes to editors

Video embed links:

About Central England Co-operative
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with projected gross sales of £958million for 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property.  The company’s funeral business consist of over 120 funeral homes across 16 counties, 10 florists, masonry production and administration, Bretby Crematorium and Terry Smiths coffin factory. Central England Co-operative has more than 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store and funeral home development programme for 2015/16.
Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including raising over £1 million for Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.
For more information visit http://www.centralengland.coop follo,w Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and @mycooplife on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth / Jo Baldock at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop