Lady LUX

There's a brand new way to order flowers online, thanks to BloomNation.com. This site partners with independent florists around the US, and supplies customers with creative, unique bouquets rather than generic flowers that cater to the masses. The photos on BloomNation are of each florist's own work, uploaded by the florists, and look like the actual bouquets that will be delivered.

The concept has proved so impressive that, in October last year, BloomNation raised $1.65 million in seed funding to build its marketplace and e-commerce business, according to The Wall Street Journal. The site competes with industry giants like 1-800-Flowers, FTD Inc. or Teleflora, but offers florists a larger percentage of profits than they receive when they sell bouquets through those sites.

LadyLUX talked to co-founder and COO of BloomNation.com, Gregg Weisstein, to find out more about this new concept.

LadyLUX: How is BloomNation different than other floral delivery websites?

Gregg Weisstein: BloomNation allows customers to shop directly with local florists. Other floral delivery websites act as mass marketing middlemen that collect the customer's order and then wire it out to a random florist to fulfill. We take out the middleman and allow for 100 percent transparency between the customer and florist. Think of us as the “Etsy for flowers.” On BloomNation, what you see is what you get. All of the images are taken and uploaded by the local florist. So when you shop on BloomNation, you have confidence that the florist is able to make the arrangement that you are purchasing.

LL: How do you find the florists to join BloomNation?

GW: We have had over 2,000 florists sign up with BloomNation through word of mouth and social media. We rely on our top floral artisans' recommendations to find and vet other top florists throughout the country.

LL: What spurred the creation of this company?

GW: BloomNation was born from the frustration of trying to send flowers online. It was so frustrating finding the same cookie-cutter designs across the internet and having them look nothing like the picture when they were delivered. Like most people, we had no idea how the industry worked, so when we realized that most internet sites were really just online brokers buying and selling orders to the florist for a commission, we were shocked. Suddenly there was a moment of clarity when we realized that we should take the same marketplace model that has been successful for eBay, Etsy and Amazon and apply it to flowers.

LL: When did you launch?

GW: The actual site launched a little over a year ago.

LL: Tell me about how you received your funding.

GW: We have been fortunate to receive funding from some of the top investors in the world. Through our great network of friends and colleagues, we had the opportunity to meet amazingly talented investors that also shared our same vision in changing the way flowers are sent online.

LL: What is your best selling bouquet?

GW: Our best selling bouquets change with the season. The beautiful thing about BloomNation is the changing inventory and the ability to find a new and beautiful arrangement every day.

LL: What is your best selling flower type?

GW: Orchids, hydrangea and calla lilies are extremely popular on BloomNation because most of the other national flower sites do not offer these more unique and premium flowers.

LL: What are the trends in floral arrangements this spring/summer?

GW: Less filler with more flowers that really show off a wide spectrum of color.

LL: Tell me more about the impact of flowers. What type of bouquet would you recommend a woman send to a man? And for what reasons/when?

GW: Sending flowers is a great way to let someone know that you are thinking of them. A succulent garden is always a great gift for a man: low maintenance and a great accent to any room. No reason at all is always the best reason to let someone know they are on your mind.

LL: Are men more excited to get flowers than women, since they don't expect it?

GW: It is tough to beat the excitement a woman has when she receives flowers at work in front of all her coworkers.

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