Floom, an online marketplace that connects consumers with independent florists, has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube. The website is currently seeking £390,000 to continue growth and expansion. The platform, which was founded by Lana Elie, was designed to solve the problem of finding and sending a quality bouquet of flowers.
“We are bringing technology, e-commerce and design to an industry that is run by archaic processes and systems. Our research suggests that very few independent florists have e-commerce websites, and have found the large conglomerates that do offer flowers online to have mundane bouquets and a confusing online experience.”
The Floom team noted that all florists using their site are vetted for quality, listing photography standardized, bouquets listed based on the florist’s chosen delivery areas. Ordering is simple: customers visit the site, enter their post-code, and choose a bouquet that suits their needs. The website operates a commission revenue model and takes 20% on gross transaction value, minus the delivery fee, which goes to the florist. Customers currently pay £6.99 for delivery, £9.99 for the same day.
“We plan to do for flowers what Deliveroo are doing for takeaway; bringing quality and choice to the customer and championing the local independent business along the way. The model means Floom holds no risk with what is otherwise a rapidly perishable product, as well as no large warehouse and frozen storage costs.”
Since it began trading in March 2016, Floom has had more than 350,000 visitors on the site and return purchasers average at 40%. In regards to what the funds from the Crowdcube campaign will be used for, Floom’s crew added:
“We will use this investment to test and implement digital marketing strategies as well as updating our marketplace software for both supply and customer side experiences, as well as scaling national supply acquisition in order to be nationwide in the next 3 months (100 additional florists).”
The campaign is set to close mid-April.
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