Becoming a leader in the faux flower industry

Maria Del Mar Jones is the Founder and CEO of Indelible Bouquet Ltd – a highly successful luxury faux flower company, which provides silk flower arrangements and artificial plants as a realistic and cost-effective alternative to fresh flowers and plants. 

They say some of the best businesses start as a passion project, and that was certainly the case for me. Last Summer marked the 10th anniversary of our first corporate client, which provided me with a great opportunity to reflect on the journey that has led me to this point. 

Like many of us, my career path has been far from linear. It started out in one place, but zig zagged off through a series of different roles in different industries. From working as a personal trainer for successful female entrepreneurs such as Gabrielle the singer, and Jacqueline Gold, the CEO of Ann Summers, to becoming one of the highest earning corporate salespeople at PHS Group, each stage of my journey has provided me with learnings that have contributed to where I am today.

As someone with a deep appreciation of aesthetics, I’d always loved flowers. I hadn’t come across artificial flowers until I was working in a sales role for the interior landscaping division of PHS GREENLEAF, and, ironically, I remember feeling rather unimpressed at the time. To me, the faux flowers we provided looked rather tacky and inexpensive, but I was intrigued by the concept, and I began to explore it further outside of work. 

One, two, skip a few, and after finding a supplier that provided silk flowers of a far superior quality, I started creating silk flower arrangements for my friends and family members. More than anything, it served as a great creative outlet for me. There was something therapeutic about choosing which flowers to go with which and gently bending and curving them to create the perfect display. 

But as word spread and my arrangements became more popular, I had to start using my daughter’s shower room for storage space. Then, one fateful afternoon, I was picking my daughter up from her ballet class when I got talking to another parent. She had heard about my silk flower displays and wanted to introduce me to her colleague at Euromoney who was responsible for the flower arrangements for their offices. 

Before I knew it, I was meeting with Robert Jones, the Head of Facilities at Euromoney and discussing what I could offer them as an alternative to fresh flower arrangements. Robert explained that he had concerns around how frequently they were having to replace their fresh flower displays in the office. The upkeep was significant, as was the cost, and if I could provide a realistic and cost-effective alternative then he was all ears.  

After a nerve-racking pitch on my end, he agreed to give me a shot. Our agreement was based on a monthly rental basis, whereby I would provide bespoke silk flower displays to their offices each month. I remember dropping off the very first arrangements, full of nerves, but to this day myself and Robert have a wonderful working relationship and I will never be able to thank him enough for giving me a chance and the belief in myself to pursue this dream. 

Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength, now servicing a multitude of high-end clients from NatWest Bank to Linklaters. In the square mile in London alone, we are fortunate enough to service many of the iconic buildings such as the Sky Garden, Leadenhall, Bishopsgate and Aldgate Tower. We are a preferred supplier for leading hospitality companies such as Portico and property estate management Savills, and I’ve had to employ a wonderful team of women to help keep up with the demand. I love being part of an all-female business, surrounded by hard-working women who share my passion for the industry.

When I think about what I can credit my success to, alongside my own passion and determination, there are several contributing factors. One thing that has been key is that more and more people are waking up to environmental impact of fresh cut flowers. A lot of my clients are switching to silk flowers as a result of wanting to meet their ESG or CSR targets, having realised the carbon footprint associated with having fresh cut flowers flown over from other parts of the world, only to wilt and die a week later. 

Secondly, I have been fortunate that the technology has come on leaps and bounds over the past decade since I started doing this. Long gone are the days of artificial flowers looking tacky or cheap. Now they are so realistic looking that it’s impossible for clients to tell the difference.

Thirdly, the pandemic resulted in many more people only coming into the office one or two days a week, so suddenly the cost of displaying new fresh flowers every week seems even more extortionate with no one there to appreciate them. On average my clients are reporting annual savings of around 45% by switching to monthly silk flower rental agreements with us.

Finally, I must give some credit to my wonderful business coach, Jeremy Graham-Clare, for helping me to elevate my business. You can have all the passion and drive in the world, but sometimes you also need someone to keep you on track and focus you. I would always advise other female entrepreneurs to consider working with a coach for this very reason. 

This year our focus at Indelible Bouquet Ltd is to continue to grow our client base, specifically across the Sussex region, and to continue to provide a luxury, bespoke service to all of our existing clients too.

You can visit our website at indeliblebouquet.co.uk or connect with me directly on LinkedIn: Maria Del Mar Jones.