Bloom & Wild boss confident of blossoming growth despite cost of living crunch
The co-founder of Bloom & Wild chats to CityA.M. about international acquisitions, venturing into physical retail and why, despite a cost of living crunch, demand for flowers is still growing.
After launching in 2013, Aron Gelbard and Ben Stanway’s letter-box florist has reaped the rewards of an acceleration towards online amid the pandemic.
Last year, it snapped up French and Dutch rivals Bergamotte and Bloomon, setting its sights on shipping 11m bouquets per year.
A “major priority” was to use the learnings from having scaled B&W in the UK to scale operations in other countries, plus applying lessons-learned from its European counterparts and applying them to the UK, Gelbard said.
Following the footsteps of its European arms, B&W has started selling other gifting products, such as plants, and has launched its own subscription firm.
The delivery-service has also been “experimenting” with pop-ups, with London spaces in Clapham and Parsons Green planned, as well as Bristol.
“We think it’s a really interesting area and now with no Covid restrictions, it is a good time for people to be able to know B&W in person a bit more.”
Despite cash-strapped consumers cutting back on discretionary spending amid soaring household bills, Gelbard is confident that B&W’s place in Europe’s £22bn flower and house plant market will remain strong.
“People are clearly tightening their belts and being more careful about spending across many categories,” he said. “We’re not exempt from that, it is to be expected with inflation and higher energy bills.”
However, the firm’s growing market share was testament to a “flight towards trust” when consumers were more cautious about their spending, he said.
While the easing of lockdown restrictions and reopening of bricks-and-mortar retail has brought with it a slight easing in monthly deliveries, business has still been blooming versus pre-pandemic levels.
“Many people tried [ordering flowers] online for the first time during the pandemic and then had a good experience [and are now] continuing to stick with it even though offline options are available again,” Gelbard said.
Ranking in the top 20 of FEBE’s inaugural Growth 100 list of the fastest growing founder-led firms, Gelbard said the business is something he has “poured my heart and soul into” for more than a decade.
The brand hopes to differentiate itself from competitors by offering customers a chance to “do something a bit special” when sending loved ones a gift, Gelbard said.
“We always try to be a little more thoughtful,” he added, pointing to the company’s launch of an option to opt out of marketing emails ahead of sensitive occasions in 2019. “Now, it has become quite mainstream.”
Asked whether the florist had any appetite to consider a public listing, Gelbard pointed to the firm’s “brilliant investor” General Catalyst.
“[An IPO] is certainly something we would consider in the future,” he said. “It is not something we are working on in the short term, [we see] a lot of opportunity to grow the business under private ownership.”
“Markets are more volatile at the minute but it is definitely something we would consider.”