Bloom & Wild: Delivering a fragrant revolution
Tim Radley
'Making good people into great retailers.' Consultancy, workshops, & eLearning to help you and your business to become better retailers.
Bloom & Wild: Delivering a fragrant revolution
I’d recommend that we all spoil ourselves with flowers. Not, for the hell of it, and not any flowers. Just those delivered by Bloom & Wild.
Their story is not about flowers, no matter how beautiful they are, but about disrupting a market where with one decisive initiative they transformed the sector. From that point they have blazed a trail of disruption through the flower fields of the world. They have re-engineered the traditional supply chain that brings blooms to your door.
Delightful Disruption
Bloom & Wild are the original “letterbox” florists. As you might imagine this means that flowers are sent directly through you letterbox. Take any nightmare visions from your mind of flowers being forced through your doors like Christmas trees through a shredder. In fact, cast out of your mind any notion of nationwide chains of delivery vans driving to your doorstep.
The problems with delivered flowers are both common for all home delivery but also some specific to florists. The specific issues are related to the variable quality of the blooms, the inconsistent levels of display and the service itself. These can all be far away from our ideal.
The generic issues such as no-one at home can also be worse for delivering flowers, either destroying the element of surprise that the delivery of a flower bouquet is designed to create, or simply by destroying the delivery altogether.
Empowering the letterbox
The decisive initiative that gave birth to Bloom & Wild was to deliver flowers in a box the size of a letterbox. More accurately slightly smaller than the average letter box so that the box can be delivered through it.
Instantly, those issues regarding delivery dissolve into thin air. A beautiful surprise both for someone at home or for those arriving after the event.
Delivery achieved. Success. However, the smart thinking is still to be unwrapped.
Bloom & Wild turn “flowers” into “floral events!”
Firstly, the boxes are beautifully designed and themed. So, these are not just safe vessels of carriage but statements of beauty in themselves.
Secondly, the individual blooms are wrapped in protective tissue and ‘nets’ to keep them safe. The practical act of protection is transformed into an unveiling of exclusively selected stems individually wrapped.
By design, the whole process of unwrapping inspires the recipient to inspect and enjoy every floral element of the display. Something never done with a delivered bouquet.
The chore of delivery is transformed into the joy of discovery.
The experience is further added to with recommendations and guidance on how to display the various flowers. If this sets alive the enthusiasm of the recipient, then the experience can be enlarged upon through demonstration videos on the website, and even a visit to a dedicated Bloom & Wild flower display workshop coming to a location near you soon.
Magically, arranging your own flowers becomes an achievement instead of a chore.
The “Floral Experience” arrives complete
So, there we have Bloom & Wild.
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Of course, flower delivery is common place. And making flowers look beautiful is nothing new, nor is learning how to display them yourself.
However, delivering all of this through a letterbox is clever. Very clever. And the sizing of a box to make this all possible is extremely clever.
Disrupting wider fields
Disrupting the final delivery was just the start. Many new ideas and operations were required to make the vision a reality. The supply chain complexity reduced the freshness of the blooms received and added layers of costs.
Bloom & Wild began to work directly with suppliers and ship quickly to chilled storage. bouquets were devised that coordinated flowers but also supply chains. Speed from the field meant younger buds which lasted for longer in the customer’s home.
Behind the box, re-engineering of the supply chain is what has really made Bloom & Wild a master disruptor in its sector.
A simple disruptive idea. Delivered beautifully.
In the meantime…
Bloom & Wild is featured in the new book – ‘Meaning in the Retail Madness – How to be an Essential Retailer’
If you’d like to read my book for many more retailer insights and best practice. And to here my thoughts on retail’s future, then that’s an excellent idea.
MEANING IN THE RETAIL MADNESS
How to be an Essential Retailer
It is hot off the press for 2021.
I hope that the sections on how to flourish in the ‘The life and times of the Essential Retailer’ how to evolve ‘Agile Organisations’ and excel in ‘Astute Strategies’ may be a source of inspiration and guidance. You will also find 70 action plans and 90 retail best practice insights that may help you to assess your current weaknesses and opportunities.
Enjoy your read.