We spend 5 minutes with the founders of LVLY. A heart-centred gifting business that is shaking up the e-commerce industry
How did you two come together to launch your business?
Hannah:
“LVLY (pronounced lovely) is a collaboration between my business partner, Verity, and I. The idea for LVLY started with a purpose rather than a product. We wanted to build a business that would help keep loved ones connected and spread a bit of joy in the world. We were living away from home, missing friends and family and saw a gap in the market to send affordable flowers and gifts that weren’t the traditional red roses and fluffy teddy bears. Our mission is to become Australia’s most loved and most used flower delivery service.”
Verity:
“Hannah and I met in Sydney working at a digital agency on a big retail client together. We quickly figured out that we had very complementary skill sets and shared the dream to run our own business one day. We were both living away from home at the time and realised there was a big gap in the gifting market for a same day delivery service of fun, affordable, beautiful gifts.
So, we decided to give it a go, planning to launch something locally in Melbourne first, then grow from there.”
The e-commerce industry is HUGE! How do you cut through to your target audience?
Hannah:
“I think there’s lots of reason we cut through but the big three would be relevancy, flexibility and exceptional customer service. We’ve created a playful brand and on-trend product range that’s relevant to our customers. We have the most flexible delivery proposition in the market - we offer same-day delivery, 7 days a week and customers can order right up to 5pm to get flowers delivered same-day. No one else provides customers with this flexibility. And we benchmark ourselves on providing world class customer service. We’re completely customer centric.
Unboxing is an important part of receiving any LVLY gift in the mail, it all starts with our iconic ‘someone thinks you’re awesome box’ and now we’ve expanded our gifting range from locally sourced flowers to artisan treats, books, yoga cards, puzzles that celebrate diverse women.
Our latest collaboration includes being able to gift a vibrator too. At LVLY we’re constantly innovating to stay relevant to our customers. We know that sexual wellness and self care is a hot topic - imagine being able to send a friend who just deserves a bit of ‘me’ time, flowers, drinks and acute and compact vibrator all in the one package - I mean it’s the gift that keeps on giving and giving… literally!”
Can you tell us more about how empathy is at the core of your marketing strategy?
Hannah:
“Empathy isn’t just at the core of our marketing strategy, it’s at the core of our business. We exist to make people happy, to be the sunshine in people’s day, to connect loved ones who can’t be together. So naturally that flows into all parts of the business. From a marketing perspective this year we gave people the option to opt out of Mother’s Day emails. It felt important to acknowledge the potentially damaging effects of sending out “Don’t forget mum” style messages to people who may have lost a mother or child.
We had an unexpectedly huge response from our customers thanking us for being so considerate and supportive. It felt really good to know we’d made a difference to those people.”
What does the future hold for LVLY?
Hannah:
“We have a big focus on locally sourced products, and this will continue to be our mission. Most people don’t realise that around 40% of flowers sold in Australia are imported from overseas. Flowers can be in transit internationally for weeks, which not only creates a huge carbon footprint but also means nasty pesticides at border control and a reduced shelf life. We are committed to sourcing locally, which means longer-lasting flowers for our customers, keeping Aussie flower farmers in business, and better outcomes for our planet. It’s our Paddock To Posy™ promise.”
There’s a bunch of stuff that won’t change - like our obsession with making people happy and our dedication to being there when our customers need us. But we’ll also be busy extending our same-day delivery into additional cities and bringing some incredible new products into our range! If you want to be the first to know more, follow us at @hello_lvly.”
Verity:
“Our vision remains the same, we want to be the most used and loved flower and gift delivery service in Australia. We want to be a household name, a brand that you trust to help you make someone's day. We have lots of exciting plans and ideas to bring this to life in the next few years. We'e excited to put the plans into action! Watch this space…”
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