People’s Champion finalist 2017: Bloom & Wild

Start-up name: Bloom & Wild
Founders: Aron Gelbard and Ben Stanway
Started in: July 2013
Based in: London
Business description: A ‘flowers through the letterbox’ subscription service

Shortlisted categories:

App of the Year, Product Business of the Year, Retail Business of the Year

The Bloom & Wild story:

What was fast becoming an antiquated expression of love, Bloom & Wild has given the task of sending flowers a 21st century makeover with its disruptive tech and innovative packaging.

Designed with time poor romantics in mind, co-founders Aron Gelbard – a Young Gun 2017 – and Ben Stanway sought to address the one major problem with delivering flowers; that the recipient has to ‘wait in’ for the gift, ruining the surprise element and creating hassle.

Using specially designed packaging that allows a bouquet to fit right through a letterbox without damaging a single petal, Bloom & Wild sources all of its flowers direct from growers ensuring a longer vase life and opportunity for delivery.

With innovation at the forefront of its vision, the London-based start-up uses predictive analytics to only source the number of flowers they’ll use, compared to high-street florists who can waste or subsidise up to 40% of their stock.

Its packaging is also designed to be less wasteful; it uses half of the cardboard compared to standard online flower brands and all of its packaging is recycled and recyclable and comes with tips and tricks on up-cycling.

Proclaiming that “in the age where projecting ‘brand-me’ is key, our flowers have become the zeitgeist for consumers”, Bloom & Wild matches the increasing consumer demand for customisation and innovation, with 70% of traffic coming from mobile via its app.

The first UK flower brand to offer ApplePay upon launch, Bloom & Wild also says the process of ordering flowers on its app can take “well under a minute”.

Why Bloom & Wild made our shortlist:

Currently operating in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, 2018 will see Bloom & Wild move further afield into the international market by launching in both France and Germany.

Bringing tech and innovation to an age-old industry, and with over 15,000 five-star reviews on Reviews.co.uk, we’re in no doubt mainland Europe will love Bloom & Wild just as much as us Brits.

Where to find out more about Bloom & Wild:

Website: www.bloomandwild.com
Twitter: @bloomandwild