A budding group of flower-delivery start-ups filling orders for Valentine's Day this week are shunning the most popular way to say "I love you": red roses.
You won't find traditional cellophane-wrapped buds, teddy bears or heart-shaped chocolate boxes anywhere in the product selection of companies including Farmgirl Flowers, BloomThat, BloomNation and The Bouqs. Those products, and the online models that so often deliver them — sites like Teleflora and 1-800-Flowers — have become stale, say this new crop of entrepreneurs.
Instead, these companies are tucking plants like decorative kale, ranunculus and eucalyptus into arrangements as they attempt to tone down the Hallmark holiday cheese factor with hipper designs, locally sourced stems and gift box add-ons like gourmet gummy candies and red-tinted lip balm.
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