DS Smith helps Bloom & Wild delight with fresh e-commerce packaging

Sustainable packaging provider ensures customer experience with superior print capability.

Inventor of letterbox flowers, Bloom & Wild, was seeking the right partner to develop a bespoke new decorative box for hand tied flowers. The company turned to leading packaging strategist DS Smith, renowned for its sustainable packaging, high-quality printing capabilities and e-commerce experience.

Born of founder Aron Gelbard's vision to deliver flowers to customers even when they aren't home, Bloom & Wild launched more than five years ago with the aim of making gifting and receiving flowers a joy. Flowers are sent in bud and wrapped in petal protectors, allowing the company to post bouquets imagined by some of the world's best floral designers in beautifully printed boxes that fit through the letterbox. By enabling thoughtfulness in the digital age through next-generation gifting, the inventor of letterbox flowers has now grown into one of the UK’s most loved flower brands.

Kerry Dowse, Supply Operations Lead at Bloom & Wild said, “The design of our letterbox pack is based on research that our founder Aron personally undertook, measuring letterboxes to find the perfect size for our flower boxes. The standout design and print of our packaging is vital for our brand, but we also wanted to work with a packaging innovator that shared our views on sustainability – which made DS Smith the perfect fit.”

To the delight of customers, Bloom & Wild has established a series of design-led partnerships with creative brands including Liberty and Morris & Co. The selected prints on the outside of the box often inspire the choice of flowers inside, increasing the impact of the gift and offering customers something exclusive from two brands they love. The company now offers five exclusive promotional seasonal packs each year, with three designs available in two sizes.

In order to ensure that forecasting and timescales are met effectively and efficiently, the partnership between Bloom & Wild and DS Smith is extremely collaborative.

Sara Blount, Sales Manager at DS Smith said, “We work very closely with Bloom & Wild to ensure that their unique packaging designs are reproduced in the highest quality. These promotional packs deliver a real visual experience for customers so it’s vital that the packaging and its print is bright and colourful, to give the brand experience that Bloom & Wild are known for.”

It was the superior nature of the litho and digitally printed boxes – exclusive to DS Smith in the UK – which Bloom & Wild were impressed by. The process allows for a high-quality print without the corrugated flute being compressed. This is achieved by printing both the interior and exterior designs on roll, before the flute is placed between the layers and they are laminated together. During the design process, DS Smith has the ability to easily print and produce packaging samples in the studio, enabling a truly effortless and collaborative experience with Bloom & Wild on site.

Kerry Dowse, Supply Operations Lead at Bloom & Wild said, “DS Smith’s ability to create live samples of our packaging is vital for bringing our flamboyant ideas to life so that we can continue to evolve and ‘wow’ our customers. The team gave us a fully personalised approach, which fits our needs perfectly and has a hugely positive impact on our business.

“An added benefit for us, while we continue to expand, is the stock and serve service that DS Smith provide. By stocking both our Kraft and exclusive letterbox designs, we’re able to hold more packaging stock in the build up to key gifting holidays and ensure that we can give our customers the superior service and experience they deserve.”

In the last eight months the stock facility used by Bloom & Wild has tripled in capacity – a clear demonstration of the company’s rapid growth. The construction of the boxes, originally a manual process, has also now been automated by DS Smith to support Bloom & Wild’s growing market volume.

The partnership has also led to the centralisation of the production and design of Bloom & Wild’s statement letterbox packaging, ensuring an enhanced customer experience while the company scaled up its production volume.

Sara Blount, Sales Manager at DS Smith added, “It’s fantastic to support Bloom & Wild as they continue to expand their e-commerce flower and gift offering. Through our unique print and manufacturing capabilities, and our stock and serve service, we’re delighted that we can help deliver the renowned customer experience that Bloom & Wild has at its foundation.”