Tags: Eufloria Flower shop in the Philippines Lifestyle Blog Lifestyle Blogger Lifestyle Blogger in Manila Philippines Meg Hernandez Meghann Hernandez Metro Mom Mommy blogger Mommy blogger in Manila Philippines mompreneur motherhood
When 24-year old Melody An Saja “Chiqk” Ybañez, a mother of one, started Eufloria in the middle of January 2016, she had high hopes for this flower business to take root.
Her optimism was well backed up by years of experience in cultivating her own brand of consumer F&B product, as well as her growing passion for tablescapes and event styling. Green Dare, Chiqk’s line of healthy sips and eats, has already become a commercial staple among urbanites who has redefined fast food as whole, real and organic. This business continues to grow and expand to this date with this young entrepreneur at the helm, managing every squeeze and detail. With just this and the many undertakings associated to parenthood, you’d think this mother already got her hands full. So what sparked the idea of opening a new venture?
Photo courtesy of Chiqk Ybañez
“I love reading magazines and blogs about wedding planning,” Chiqk reveals. “Of course, flowers always factor in, be it an intimate or extravagant event. I am fascinated with how flowers are able to prettify each corner or table, making it look unique with just simple tweak and twist in presentation and color motif.” This young mom’s art and design intuition stems from her background in architecture, a course she is set to finish in the near future. “Yes, juggling my studies and juicery with parenting can be quite a handful and taxing, but if you are that passionate about something, you will always find time to work on it.”
“I live for surprises and I appreciate how my partner brightens up random moments with a bunch of flowers. He knows how much I adore colors and blooms in the house. Of course, I cannot expect him to send me flowers every single day. So, I thought of putting up a flower business — a little entity where I can grow my budding passion.”
Photo courtesy of Chiqk Ybañez
Chiqk followed her instincts and went to her go-to online sources for do-it-yourself tutorials. “I started browsing samples on the Internet, searching for trends in flower arrangement. There were some hands-on training I underwent, but majority of these were only on the basics in cutting and caring for flowers. Most of what I learned in terms of styling and presentation were all from online tutorials, and the rest are just my own interpretation and style.”
“I’d say my business concept was inspired by this flower arrangement called Million-Roses, which is popular in Budapest,” Chiqk explains. “With this, you have a hundreds of red roses beautifully arranged in an elegant, round box. This style inspired me to create my own flower boxes, which are now the signature specials under Eufloria.”
Similar to how she introduced Green Dare, it only took Chiqk a few days to launch Eufloria through Facebook and Instagram, and only a week for her to gain loyal customers and steady following. Her timing for the launch proved to be just right, as orders for Valentine’s Day exceeded her expectations. “I was the only one doing the flower arrangements. We had more than a hundred orders for that weekend and it was such a fulfillment for me to complete everything in a short span of time.”
Valentine’s Day has come and gone, yet Eufloria continues to bloom. Not limiting herself to bouquets and flowers-in-boxes, Chiqk extended their services to include custom arrangements, event consultations, and flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors. Customers swear by the brand’s appeal, aesthetics and timely delivery. As of press time, Chiqk says she is still in the process building a physical store — a one-stop shop where clients can also purchase cakes and pastries to go with their box or bunch of flowers.
Photo courtesy of Chiqk Ybañez
“The market response excites me and it’s humbling to get such support from the community.” Chiqk adds she intends to reinvent her business design and sow seeds for more years of growth. “My challenge now is to not only keep up with the trends, but to also experiment with other resources and themes.”
For orders and more information, follow Eufloria PH on Facebook and @eufloriaph on Instagram. You may also contact 0917 9759600.
Photos courtesy of Chiqk Ybañez.
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Story published on my newspaper column in Edge Davao.
