Online UK flower delivery business Bloom & Wild has hailed the strength of its tech and data science platform following the acquisition of Dutch rival Bloomon, with the combined operations creating Europe’s largest online flower and houseplant business.
Launched in 2013, Bloom & Wild pioneered the sending of bouquets that can fit through a letterbox, and has witnessed exponential growth; sales for the year ending March topped £100m, compared to £29m two years ago.
To date, the company has raised £96m of equity over four institutional funding rounds, having secured a £75m investment in January 2021.
Bloomon, which was founded in Amsterdam in 2014, was originally a flower subscription business that has now expanded into one-off deliveries. The size of the deal, which Bloom & Wild said was financed by cash reserves, was not disclosed.
Bloom & Wild and Bloomon have both focused on building user friendly websites and apps that use customer data to personalise the shopping experience.
Now, the combined business expects to ship more than 8 million plants and bouquets of flowers in the next year in countries including Belgium, Denmark and Germany, and has forecast revenues to exceed £200m. There is plenty of room for growth, however; the European market is estimated to be worth £22bn.
Bloom & Wild co-founder and chief executive Aron Gelbard said: “With the completion of our first acquisition, we have created Europe’s leading online flower delivery company.
“Over the past eight years, we’ve grown rapidly, entirely through organic growth, into a profitable business with revenues substantially north of £100m. And now we’re excited to consolidate two leading players in the fragmented, European flower and house plant market.
“Our tech and data science platform, scale, and investor backing make us the natural consolidator as we continue to target rapid growth through organic and inorganic means, and further extend our European market leadership.
“Together, we will continue to drive industry change and build on our ambitious sustainability roadmap. I’m thrilled to welcome all of our new team members to the Bloom & Wild family. We have a shared ambition, common values, and a mutual obsession with harnessing technology, supply chain innovation, and outstanding bouquet design to revolutionise the customer experience.”
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