Battery Leads $4.7M Round In Floral Delivery Service H.Bloom

Luxury floral subscription service H.Bloom $4.7 million led by Battery Ventures with participation from existing angel investors, including Brian Lee, the founder of ShoeDazzle and LegalZoom; and Anton Levy, partner at General Atlantic, and board member of Gilt Groupe. This brings H.Bloom’s total funding to $8 million.

H.Bloom is hoping to disrupt the online floral delivery service by offering floral subscription plans at affordable rates. Their basic package is $30 per floral bundle (including shipping) and can be delivered on a weekly, monthly or bi-monthly basis.

And the service delivers designer-quality arrangements (made by professional designers), to both residential and business customers, for approximately 70 percent off traditional floral boutique pricing. The startup serves New York City, Washington DC, and as of September 1st, Chicago.

The flower industry is a $32 billion flower market, explains Bryan Burkhart, co-founder and CEO, and is ripe for innovation. Retailers have to pay for expensive store-fronts and an overwhelming percentage of flowers that spoil before a customer can purchase them. H.Bloom can offer competitive pricing by working directly with the growers, cutting out traditional overhead expenses and relying on the subscription plan model, which requires 7-day notice for cancellations. H.Bloom only orders flowers they need for set customer orders.

The subscription model seems to be working. The startup has seen revenue double every other quarter since its launch in April 2010. And the company only wastes around 1 percent of its inventory. Burkhart says that the response from commercial customers, such as those who want florals in their office space, is particularly positive.

H.Bloom will apply the new funds to hiring, expanding into new markets, and investing in sales and marketing.