The flower industry is in fashion and it also moves millions. Colvin, the Spanish startup that sells bouquets of flowers online, has just raised a whopping 45 million euros to continue growing a complicated market. The technology company that wanted to democratize an old-fashioned business and get rid of intermediaries is gradually achieving its purpose.
For this occasion, Colvin has closed a Series C with Eurazeo. A French fund – Glovo investor – that has led an operation in which Capagro, AgTech or FoodTech VC have also participated. The entrance of the background accentuates the interest of the French country in entrepreneurship in Spain. Not only by means of the financing that has been accompanying one of the Spanish unicorns par excellence, but also by purchasing interests. Just a few hours ago, the buyer of Bipi, the long-term car rental technology company, was known by the Renault Group.
Be that as it may, Colvin continues to win over investors with his proposal to change the flower industry. The technology company founded in the shadow of the first post-university projects of its founders, Marc Olmedillo, Andrés Cester and Sergi Bastardas, began with the sale to the end customer. Could flowers be something that came into the hands of anyone? Surprising, but yes.
In your ideas, be a sales platform that connect directly with producers. At a lower price than its competitors for cutting out the middlemen, it was a strong bet that, if successful, would anger many along the way. Now, with their new operation, they seek to face the professional sector. The B2B.
The startup that wants to kill middlemen
Middlemen in the floriculture sector are cut by the same pattern as those in other sectors. Generally speaking, they are the ones that take most of the cake and increase the final price of the products. At the end of the day, the reality is that intermediaries earn more than producersregardless of price and demand increases.
If we exchange tomatoes for flowers, the structure repeats itself. A pattern that Colvin wants to take ahead of those who operate in the process, which can be between 5 to 1o depending on the moment. Still in 2021, the flowers continue to make the trip of a lifetime before finishing in the vase at home. About 20 days that shorten the life of products and with 30% of the harvest that ends up in the garbage. With a production of almost 1,000 million in the last year according to the Ministry of Agriculture, and almost 110,000 thousand dozen in carnation and rose production mainly between Andalusia, the Canary Islands and Catalonia, floriculture is an important sector in Spain. But that he continues to leave his efforts to the intermediary and that without taking into account the environmental impact of this journey.
One that exports most of its products mainly to France. But before reaching the neighboring country has to travel to Holland, the kingdom of the tulip, to take on the world’s largest flower auction. It is very likely that the flowers that many buy around the corner and have been produced a few kilometers from their home, have traveled half a continent before being placed in the vase. Colvin wants to overthrow to the auction giant from your own marketplace. A giant that, despite everything, has been trying to fix its situation for some time by becoming a logistics infrastructure rather than a large market.
With this situation, the Netherlands has the monopoly of the world flower as the first exporter with a business valued at 7,000 million euros. Now in slight decline due to the pandemic, yet almost 65% of the world’s flowers pass through the country at this time.
Colvin wants to eliminate the Dutch empire, and that can anger a lot of people
Selling to customers was the Trojan horse to digitize the flower trade. At least in Spain. The truth came later with the bottom line of Colvin’s business: sale to professionals. Or what is the same, digitize an industry to prevent flowers from traveling every day and without reason to Holland. Colvin already had experience dealing with producers – whom it took years to convince and who with the coronavirus crisis and climate changes are more than within the process – to nurture their main business focus; it only had to broaden the perspective to the wholesalers in the sector.
“We want to create a digital ecosystem with producers and buyers to increase opportunities in the sector. It is not just a disintermediation tool, it is something more for all parties,” explains Bastardas to Hypertextual. In fact, it points out that intermediaries can benefit; it would be that great Dutch market that would lose its monopoly.
With this new opening they want to put flower producers in contact with wholesale buyers directly. Without going through the middle road – yes, the one who does the least and the most wins. A marketplace for flower professionals. Nothing revolutionary for the common of the mortals, but yes for a business that continues anchored in the same guidelines of the beginning of the last century.