Case study: Bloom & Wild

I’m not going to mislead you by saying that flower delivery company Bloom & Wild are a vegan company, but you can’t argue with me that they are definitely plant-based!  Let’s just say they are ‘accidentally vegan’ for this case study.  However, they are a brilliant example of someone creating a remarkable company that sets themselves apart from their competitors.  How?  Not by changing what they sell, but by understanding their customers’ problems.

If you have ever been a romantic soul and wanted to send someone flowers, it’s a harder task than you think.  First, the person has to be there to receive them, which might mean calling ahead to get an address and asking them when they are going to be in, which then spoils the surprise.  Alternatively, you might have to organise having them delivered to their workplace, which can be embarrassing for some.  Next, you have to try to find a florist who delivers in the area and try to describe over the phone what you want.  If you’re anyone like me, when they get to the question “how much do you want to spend?” you’ll blurt out an amount that is twice as much as you actually want to spend because you have no idea how much flowers actually cost and worry if you go too low you’ll offend them.  Bloom & Wild recognised all these problems, and set out to build a service that made sending flowers to someone as easy as ordering from Amazon. 

You can browse through the Bloom & Wild website and see the exact bouquets they have on offer, all with prices next to them.  You can find one you like the look of without any embarrassing conversations that shows you don’t know your sweet williams from your gladioli.  Then once you’ve paid online they will dispatch the flowers in the post.  

Yes, you didn’t misread that.  They ship their flowers next-day delivery in a specially-designed long package that fits through a standard letterbox yet also protects the flowers, so if the person isn’t at home they will find them on their doormat when they return.  Inside the box, the flowers come with instructions on how to arrange them so they look as amazing as they did in the photo – and it works.  It’s easy and not stressful.  I know, I’ve used them myself.  The thing that makes them remarkable is not what they sell, it is that they solved a problem that their competitors were not solving.  So much so, that they hit £10m turnover within three years of launching.