29. Patch

Founders: Freddie Blackett and Ed Barrow
Founded: December 2015 (Launched May 2016)
Website: www.patch.garden

Patch – the start-up helping people to discover, buy and look after the right plants for their space – believes nature is fundamental to the sustainability of urban life.

With so many of us Brits constantly moving around to new houses, flats or offices, plants are a way to make each new place feel like home.

It was when he faced with trying to turn his own new, and very bare, balcony into a garden that Freddie Blackett realised he had no idea which plants he liked, let alone what plants would be most likely to thrive in a small east-facing balcony.

He was sure he wasn’t the only one facing this problem and, with the help of co-founder Ed Barrow, started Patch.

A place for green-fingered urban dwellers, Patch enables you discover plants for indoor and outdoor spaces and have them delivered to their door. It also sells pots and accessories and provides ongoing advice for plant care.

Plants can be large and fragile, so Patch manages all its deliveries in-house, hiring its own drivers to ensure all deliveries are made with care. Whilst it admits it can be a struggle to find enough drivers to meet demand, Blackett says it’s worth it to make sure customers are satisfied.

Unlike traditional garden centres, which target baby boomers, Patch focuses on millennials. Most of its 15,000 customers are 25-35 year-olds that live in London.

With this blooming customer base, it’s not surprising that Blackett and Barrow have expansion on the cards for 2018.

The coming months will see the start-up focus on expanding its delivery radius, invest in product and technology and bring more talent to the team.

Patch has a vision for greener cities “where urban dwellers can connect with nature as easily as they can connect to the internet”. Until then, they’ll carry on growing their Patch.