When you need to make a profound statement to a loved one, add color to an event, bring your wedding fantasies to life, or merely glam up your interior decor, you will most likely seek out the assistance of a florist. A bouquet of luxury flowers enchants everyone, regardless of one’s taste.

Flowers, no matter how old-fashioned they are as a gifting option, never go out of style. It’s important to understand your style, but also the style of the florist who brings your vision to life.

Launched by educationist turned entrepreneur Ms. Anuja Joshi , Interflora India – the Flower Experts, have reformed and redefined the floral landscape of gifting, luxury weddings and events space in India.

In conversation with florist Ms. Anuja Joshi, Globalspa learns about her passion for flowers and the interesting journey of her brand to become the leader, synonymous with world-class floral experiences, statement gifts and luxurious décor with presence in 25 major cities across the country.

1.) How did your journey begin with Interflora?

My journey actually began as an educationist when I set up an IB school in Pune. During our travels abroad I always marveled at the quality of flowers even at simple kerbside stores!! This led me to explore bringing Interflora, a world leader in luxury floral decor and gifting to India. The purpose was to transform the landscape of luxury floral gifting and wedding decor in India. We launched the brand in India in 2017 and today I am proud to say we have captured the imagination of the country when it comes to bespoke decor for social events & weddings, memorable gifting and tablescapes.

We have a presence in 25 major cities across the country, Interflora has reformed and redefined the floral landscape of gifting, luxury weddings and events space in India. Today the brand is synonymous with floral gifting and decor, having designed events for the whos who from the world of business, bollywood, beauty and fashion in India.

2.) What made you recognize the need for luxury floral experiences in India?

Floral experiences have historically been a very disorganized space in the country without any focus on quality control or variety. There was a huge gap in this space of a luxury decor and gifting experience that stood for quality, superlative design, vision to develop cold storage networks and an eye on sustainability. Since its inception, Interflora has been at the forefront of innovation & trends thus changing the narrative on ways consumers experience premium floral gifting, floral design and wedding concepts.

3.) Flowers have always been an inevitable part of Indian weddings. Earlier, they were just used as a simple backdrop, but as per the recent trend, couples are getting creative and ditching tradition in favor of more unique ideas. So how do you attempt to understand the vision and preferences of your clients?

When you are creating a floral experience for someone’s special day, communication is the key. You have to listen to their story, take time to understand their personality so you can design a concept that is unique to them. We believe that decor is yet another form of storytelling, and that’s what we do with our designs.

4.) What is a wedding floral trend that will stick around for a long time?

I won’t call it a trend but a practice. Sustainable design practices are here to stay. We have young couples who are aware and willing to go an extra mile to recycle and reuse the decor material. Usage of fresh potted plants has seen a rise, dry flowers that can be reused. While it is our job to style them in a way that they look different each time.

5.) What are your go-to floral choices for a tasteful decor?

Texture, Color play and Props. That’s what we play with as a rule. We tend to use a lot of seasonal flowers. Hydrangeas and lisianthus in unusual colors have always been our favorites but plants such as marigold, phalaenopsis, succulent have time and again made their way into our designs.

6.) How do you incorporate sustainability into your floral business?

As Interflora India continues to redefine the landscape for all things floral, the brand is proud to introduce a vast new selection of handcrafted floral experiences, including sustainably produced floral teas & candles, that offer a scintillating sensory experience! This diverse new collection brings together exotic blooms, premium gourmet offerings, florally fragrant candles and florally infused organic teas.

Interflora Floral Teas

100% caffeine free, sustainably produced floral infused teas: Hibiscus, Blue Pea, Chamomile and Rose are blended with olive leaves handpicked right from the heart of India. The nutrients of these leaves are thoughtfully combined with unused blooms to deliver an organic floral brew with a multitude of health benefits in every single cup.

Interflora Floral Candles

Three unique sustainably crafted floral scents – Midnight Rose, Floral bouquet and Peach Blossom, each blended with essential oils, packaged to create a smell so surreal, it enthralls with fragrance. Simply a magical concoction of sweet and spice with underlying notes of neroli, the indulgent candles are perfect to rejuvenate the spirit, mind and body, while offering a whiff of nostalgia and the hope of a new tomorrow. Truly a balance of fragrances, mindfully crafted to pamper your senses.

Our delivery network tech maps pre-decided routes for delivery agents to reduce extra travel so more orders can be delivered in time keeping unnecessary travel and delay to a minimum helping us reduce the carbon footprint via tech enabled intelligent route mapping. In addition to this, we have also invested in cold chains across the country to ensure our flowers last longer. We also ensure every forever delivery with a sachet of flower food to keep the flowers healthy and spreading their fragrance for a longer duration.

7.) What’s next for you?

We are taking steps towards sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint. We want to integrate more such processes into our functional systems so that as a company for florals that come from nature, we are giving back to the planet. In addition to this, building further on the brand & mission to offer curated and personalized design solutions. Interflora has been setting new benchmarks by bringing international standards of floral designs and marrying them with Indian aesthetics. This is another avenue we will continue to grow so that we are always one step ahead of the curve when it comes to design vision and curation.