Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Brown.
Lauren, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Almost three years ago I was in a very corporate role and was craving something creative and positive in my life. My husband, Alex, and I decided to fix up an old truck together as a fun project. We spent months scouring the internet looking for the perfect one until we found our 1982 Ford F-150 all the way in California. When the seller sent us a photo of it on the way to us, I said to Alex “Wouldn’t it be so cute with flowers on the back???” And with that Poppy Truck was born!
We had a great time restoring Poppy and preparing her to carry blooms in the bed. The pandemic hit and we decided everyone could use a bit of happy so we started delivering flowers to doorsteps in our neighborhood. Lake Nona as a community really came together to support small and local businesses and, with that effort, our business blossomed! We offer monthly flower subscriptions and delivered new blooms each week to our FlowerFam!
We wanted to spread the love and support we received so we found other local businesses to partner with each month for our special Collab. We would deliver one of their products together with our Market-style Wraps while highlight their brand and values on our social media. To our delight, our customers loved it as much as we did!
We continued to grow our FlowerFam and now have a space to showcase other local and small business goods and gifts along with our flowers in the heart of Lake Nona Town Center and, most importantly, some of the sweetest humans joined us to run the shop, design for events and weddings and spread the Poppy joy.
We have been blown away by the love and support we’ve received from our community and hope our FlowerFam can feel that same love back in each of our arrangements!!!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oooh, great question! Smooth? Eh. Gratifying? ABSOLUTELY! We’ve learned a lot along the way…we’re STILL learning a lot every day. Something we encourage from all of our FlowerGirls is creativity. If there is an idea, let’s make it happen! A giant pineapple made out of flowers? Sure! You want a flower headdress to lounge by the pool? Let’s do it!!! In that sense, we are always experimenting and learning and taking bits and pieces into the next project.
We have definitely failed at things – which always provides the biggest learning opportunities. We’ve offered goods that, looking back, didn’t properly align with our values or resonate with our FlowerFam. We tried to shop supplies to insulate our customers from the rising cost of flowers and quickly changed back when we realized the quality suffered.
We’re blessed with a supportive friends and customers who’ve become friends that are comfortable providing constructive feedback and trust us to make choices that are best for them.
So, yes, there have been struggles, but we are definitely stronger and more confident because of them!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have a dream job. I play with beautiful flowers all day and oftentimes get to see my visions come to life!!! There are many projects that I still dream about but without a doubt, I am most proud of the team we’ve built at Poppy. Now it’s not just my visions I see come to life. It’s those of our FlowerGirls, Logan or Val or Erika or even my daughters.
Walking into the Shop and seeing a jaw-dropping arrangement, or when wedding photos hit our inbox or a floral installation stops me dead in my tracks…it genuinely makes my heart flutter. When we get a google review about the ‘sweetest girl in the shop’ or ‘she absolutely NAILED my vision for my wedding,’ I am just so SO proud of where we are!
Poppy wouldn’t be where it is without them and, honestly, I really think, above all else, the impressions we make on our FlowerFam are what we are known for! And nothing could make me happier!!!
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Our flowers are used for celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, but they’re also sent for condolences and get-well-soons and thinking-of-yous. We’ve seen the best and worst of COVID – our work has celebrated those who beat it and mourned those lost – so I think it’s been a good reminder to be kind no matter your personal or political views because it is real people that are suffering.
From a business perspective, we learned to be nimble. We pivoted from markets to contactless delivery. We got creative with how to manage rising costs to insulate our customers. We really found a way to highlight and focus the importance of shopping small and supporting local even when it might not be the most convenient. And through this, we gained some of the best, most loyal customers there ever were!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.poppyflowerco.com
- Instagram: @poppyflower_co
- Facebook: @poppyflower_co
- Other: TikTok @poppyflower_co
Image Credits
Logan Lundberg
Val Davila
