A new kind of flower delivery is in full bloom. Investors are buzzing around florists whose orders come via apps and bouquets are perfectly packaged and slotted through your letterbox. The global flower industry is worth £43 billion a year and, even within Europe's saturated market - which accounts for more than 50 per cent of all flowers and plants sold worldwide - startups are witnessing record sales. Three of the market leaders, Bloom & Wild1, bloomon and FLOWERBX, have raised almost £29 million in funding between them.
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"We receive a lot of our emotional triggers on the go and we want to act on them by sending flowers and gifts," says Aron Gelbard, co-founder and CEO of London-based Bloom & Wild. That action, he says, is perfectly suited to smartphones. Another trick is shortening the supply chain. Amsterdam-based bloomon2 works with more than 400 growers, designing bouquets in advance so flowers are in season and ready to deliver within 24 hours of ordering. Founder Patrick Hurenkamp says there's room for expansion: "The people we deliver to buy more flowers than they used to, so we're growing the market ourselves."
Bloom & Wild's Gelbard broke into the industry by delivering flowers in letterbox-sized packages, arranging the flowers top to toe. "We thought this would be a disadvantage the customer would tolerate in return for the convenience of our delivery format, but actually they tell us they enjoy the act of unpacking the flowers," he says. London-based FLOWERBX3 has also brought fresh thinking to flower delivery. Co-founder Whitney Hawkings says her company grew out of a frustration of being at the mercy of couriers. "You have no idea what you're sending, so the strength of the brand provides comfort." Now all we have to worry about is if the recipient has allergies.
The London startup, which sends flowers in a letterbox-sized package, plans to expand into Europe this year. Total raised: £7.25 million. The Amsterdam- based flower-subscription service also delivers to the UK, Belgium, Denmark and Germany. Total raised: £21.5 million. A London-based company specialising in branded flowers. It's expanding delivery to France and Germany in 2017. Total raised: £1 million.
Updated 14.07.17: Bloom & Wild has raised £7.25 million, not £6.25 million.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
