Bloom & Wild, Europe’s leading online flower delivery company, has acquired the entire share capital of Bergamotte, a French based competitor, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition more than quadruples the size of Bloom & Wild’s French business overnight and secures a top five leading position in the country’s online flower delivery market.
Bergamotte has also recently expanded into Germany, further strengthening Bloom & Wild’s footprint and expertise in this important market. The deal consolidates Bloom & Wild’s position in the growing £22 billion European flower and house plant market, that is transitioning online.
Like Bloom & Wild, Bergamotte is a direct to consumer online flower and plant business that was founded by Romain Raffard and Loïc Reperant in December 2015. Fast growing and with a strong brand following in France, Bergamotte runs a team of some 80 out of Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin. In addition to one-off gifting and flower subscriptions, Bergamotte has a well-developed plant range, which includes large indoor and outdoor plants, and this year also began offering outdoor furniture.
There are substantial synergies to be realised from Bergamotte’s insights, expertise and supplier relationships in the plant market. The deal will more than double Bloom & Wild’s plant revenue across Europe and the expertise gained will act as a springboard to accelerate growth in this important market segment, which makes up just under one third of the combined flower and plant market. From a marketing perspective, Bergamotte uses pop-up stores as an important feature of its brand building strategy, which will provide interesting fresh opportunities for the wider business.
Under the terms of the deal, the Group will invest behind the Bloom & Wild, Bergamotte and recently acquired bloomon brands as it accelerates its European growth strategy. Romain Raffard, CEO and Co-founder of Bergamotte will become the Managing Director of Bergamotte, reporting directly to Aron. Sitting behind the consumer-facing brands will be an updated, singular, integrated technology, data science, logistics and marketing platform that reflects the most advanced elements of all three businesses. This will provide the Group with the most sophisticated, scaled technology
and data science capability in the industry, ensuring efficiency of operations, optimised marketing and an unrivalled customer experience.
“I’m really excited about this deal, which enhances the opportunities for career and personal development for the entire team, secures ongoing investment for the Bergamotte brand and through knowledge sharing across both businesses, will give us the most powerful technology, data and marketing platform in the industry,” comments Romain Raffard, CEO and co-founder of Bergamotte. “Culturally there is a strong fit and we share similar values around customer service, innovation and sustainability. I am fully invested in the enlarged business and look forward to working with Aron and the whole team as we continue to seize the opportunity in the growing European flower market.”
Following both the acquisition of Bergamotte, and bloomon in April 2021, Bloom & Wild has consolidated its position as the leading European online flower and delivery company, defined by the number of deliveries. The enlarged business is targeting revenues substantially north of £200 million in the current year and will be profitable from the outset, with a team of 413, across offices in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.
Separately, Bloom & Wild announces that it has raised an additional £30 million of new equity in an extension to its initial Series D raise earlier in 2021, with a Series D2 investment round from existing investors including General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Burda Principal Investments, d4 Ventures, Novel TMT Ventures, MMC Ventures, Novator and Pecten Capital. In tandem the Company has raised £20 million of debt finance in a two-bank club deal. Silicon Valley Bank UK Branch acted as Agent on the transaction, with Barclays and Silicon Valley Bank UK Branch both Mandated Lead Arrangers. Collectively, these funds alongside the £75 million equity funding raised in January 2021 and consistent internally generated cash have and will continue to be used to fund organic and inorganic growth initiatives.
Aron Gelbard, CEO and co-founder of Bloom & Wild says: “We are rapidly extending our leadership of the European online flower and house plant market through the combination of strong organic growth and selective acquisitions. As markets continue their online transition, Bloom & Wild is best placed to capture this growth, given our expanding product range and the sophistication of our technology, data and marketing capabilities, in what is a growing £22 billion European market opportunity.”
Gelbard adds: “Romain and Loïc and their entire team have done an outstanding job establishing Bergamotte as a leading brand in the French market and as an innovator in the flower and plant category and I am delighted to welcome them all to the Bloom & Wild family. Our enlarged business has a wealth of international talent, deep seated ambition and unrivalled scale, underpinned by strong investor backing. We will continue to build a profitable business that puts delivering for our customers, contributing to our communities and reducing our impact on the planet at its heart.”
