Flowwow is a full-service marketplace that connects customers with local brands and businesses, simplifying the gift-giving process. With a mission to help local brands thrive, Flowwow provides a premier platform with marketing tools to support the seller community and turn their passion into vision.
Currently, Flowwow has over 7,500 local brands from over 1,000 cities and operates in 24 countries. Last year alone, our platform processed 5 million orders.
How did the idea for the company come about?
My friend Andrey (Flowwow co-founder) and I met at the park in August 2013. By that time, we had already tested (read: “failed”) numerous business ideas. Our latest project – an aggregator of tourism voucher codes – showed that there was a growing demand for services that bring together many similar offers in one place. There was no market boom in sight, however, the success of Booking.com and SkyScanner was evident.
I was suddenly reminded of a moment several years ago when I was intrigued to surprise my mother with a gift on her birthday, as I was in Greece at the time. It was a logistical nightmare finding the gift, making a payment and tracking the package. Early surveys among our friends confirmed customer pain, while interviews with potential sellers showed that small businesses are ready to take orders and pay a fee.
A simple exchange of ideas in the park, coupled with a challenge we were willing to take on, turned into a commercial venture in 2014. Now you can order a cake for your friend in Paris or flowers for your family in Dubai right away, sitting in a coffee shop in Budapest or an office in London.
How has the company evolved in the last two years?
2019 became a turning point for Flowwow. Our team realized that we have built a top-notch platform – a market that can go beyond the floral market. The pandemic has driven our transformation. So in Spring 2020, we developed new categories for sellers, from bakeries and patisseries to vintage clothing and handcrafted jewelry, and watched how our platform helped small businesses launch online sales from scratch and introduce contactless ordering. We opened 10+ new categories in 2 months and demonstrated 2x growth with 800k orders (+77% Y/A) and 98% positive feedback.
What can we expect from Flowwow in the future?
In 2022, we are covering 24 countries and it’s just the beginning. We will expand to new geographic locations, connecting more local brands and businesses with loyal customers from around the world. We will continue to provide efficient tools for people to reach their loved ones regardless of their location, whether with the help of a flower shop in the UAE or a jewelry brand in Spain.
By bringing more smiles to our customers’ faces, we will continue to save time and money while helping companies focus on what they truly love: their products. It’s in our team’s DNA to fight for our goals; That’s why we can’t and won’t stop until Flowwow is the first service that comes to mind when our client wants to surprise a person they love.
