A newcomer to the industry, BloomLocal is making waves as the BFA 2021 Floristry Service Provider of the Year winner. Founded in 2019 by Steve France, David Ragg and other experienced florists who were concerned with the direction that the floristry industry was heading, the company’s goal is to build meaningful relationships with local florists, growers, and consumers across the UK. We aim to help consumers buy local, and promote fresh, sustainable, and ethically sourced flowers across the UK. We see a bright future for floristry and believe strongly that all consumers’ flower needs are best supplied by skilled florists, who care and understand the beautiful floral products that we all work with each day
The Florist Network
The recent rise in mass produced flower factories using centralised warehouses is having a devastating effect on local, high-street florists. The artistry developed over decades is gradually being lost. The industry is becoming impersonal, standardised and profit driven, and becoming more about packaging and clever marketing than the flowers that we all love.
Alarmed by this trend, the founders of the company, after consultation with local florists and growers, saw an opportunity to reverse it and build a floral network passionate about buying and selling locally. We know that given the choice consumers don’t want flowers that have been held in a storage facility and travel long distances in flower boxes, they want fresh, hand cut flowers and handcrafted bouquets that arrive on time and in perfect condition.
From experience, we know that customers prefer to send flowers to loved ones across the UK from one easy to use and memorable website. We also know that as online shopping has grown, internet marketing companies selling substandard machine-made bouquets have capitalised on consumers’ needs for simplicity and speed and built amazing webshops, and as a result, flowers are delivered through courier companies in boxes, leaving customers with wilted and disappointing blooms.
For the thousands of florists, it is hard to compete against these large companies and get seen on the fast and expensive internet highway, and thus consumers are now sadly accustomed to thinking flowers and thinking of boxes.
BloomLocal wants to reverse this trend. Individually it is difficult to be seen, but collectively we can. We are florists who can also do clever marketing and build a fantastic website. By working together, delivering quality, handcrafted floral arrangements into UK homes and workplaces, we
can combine our skills and ensure that floristry is seen, and our mission is to ensure that when consumers think of flowers they think of local florists.
We have already begun building a network of reputable florists who are skilled and experienced, and our network continues to grow. Some have been around for years with the business passed from one generation to the next and are still lighting up the high streets. Others are relatively new to the business and BloomLocal is delighted to help them develop their skills and help them to grow their customer base. We welcome all florists passionate about the floral industry to get in touch, and join our mission of thinking flowers, think local.
Reasons to work with BloomLocal
Who we are…
First and foremost we are florists who are troubled by the state of the floral industry today and are driven to make a positive change. We want to make a return to local florists supplying ethical, sustainable and fresh flowers to local communities. We also have a team experienced in software development and online marketing and have combined these areas of knowledge to instigate the change we all want to see.
Low commission and a competitive pricing structure
We know how hard things have been for local florists and our low commission rate reflects this. Our pricing structure is one of the best on the market, making us the best option for both florists and customers. There are no monthly fees with BloomLocal and no lengthy contracts, it is simple and easy to participate. Many florists have already experienced the benefits of working with us and their online businesses are thriving.
We believe in quality and excellence
We work with local florists to produce our range of bouquets, and are constantly creating new, seasonal arrangements. Many of the 500+ florists we work with have been creating handcrafted designs for generations, and some are beginning their journey in floristry, but each is an independent, talented, and dedicated local florist proudly serving their community. Our pricing structure enables florists to be able to offer the best.
We are committed to our florists and champion ethically sourced, sustainable flowers
We ensure that every order goes directly to a local florist giving security to our clients, and this ensures that their customers get fresh, hand cut flowers no matter where they are in the UK. We believe that factory production lines and machine-made bouquets are ruining the industry, so we guarantee that flowers come directly from a local shop packed in water and hand delivered. This is better for florists, customers, and the environment. Our aim is also to source locally, and as we grow we aim to improve on enabling florists to source locally from British growers
Innovative, proven online marketing techniques
Our experienced marketing team watches the latest trends and optimises our advertising activity to stay ahead of the competition and generate regular orders so that we can make a meaningful impact on your business. The higher volumes also enable our florists to do what they do best, create beautiful bouquets.
So, if you are an independent local florist concerned about the state of floristry in the UK and want to help make real, lasting and positive changes going forward contact us at contact@bloomlocal.co.uk.
