Often frowned upon and less frequented, a career shift is precisely what helped Interflora India’s CEO Anuja Joshi land an entrepreneurial journey she was truly passionate about. “Being a creative person, the creative side of me has always been looking to do something unique and scalable even while I was running my school! As my work led me to travel across the globe, I was introduced to Interflora, the luxurious floral gifting brand that inspired me to plan a new business venture and launch Interflora India in 2017,” says Joshi.
Launched in 2017, the luxury floral gifting brand has seen tremendous growth and success under Joshi’s leadership. The brand has launched in 25 cities in a span of just five years. Joshi credits the importance of the right team and data analysation for effective growth. “For me, my work family is extremely important so hiring the right team and empowering them is crucial. A right bunch of minds who can inspire me, and challenge me with a good blend of creativity, passion, diligence and ownership is very crucial. When running any business and closely observing and understanding your customers, analysing data can help you understand customers’ preferences and the gaps, helping you make informed choices and provide the impetus to scale and grow,” she says.
Image Source: Instagram/interfloraindia
Recently, the brand also won the Gifting eRetailer of the Year Award at the IReC Awards 2022, given its focus on product innovation, consumer experience, core technology capabilities and much more. “We started with a mission to revolutionise the Indian floral Industry through innovation, design, and technology. In the last 5 years we have been working closely with the growers to consistently grow a variety of quality flowers. Design is at the core of everything that we do! We function like a fashion house, right from trend forecasting, mood boarding, referencing, and sampling. Our collections are largely inspired by art, travels, fashion, home & living,” explains Joshi.
Even as the entrepreneur lays down the importance of processes in the brand, her emphasis on investing in the people remains strong. “Training is the key to our consistency of quality and design. We lay a lot of emphasis and each designer, florist, delivery boy has been internationally trained to curate these beauties and it’s a continuous process. In addition to this our focus on technology allows us to run dark stores in about 50 centres and to deliver on time and develop unique relationships with loyal customers,” she says.
As a small message to all of Her Circle’s readers, Joshi adds, “One of the challenges in my opinion is how the market does not take women seriously in the first go. However, I think we need to let the work speak for itself. I feel women inherently have a plethora of qualities which need to be used as strengths to overcome this. I advise consistently working towards your goal with resilience and passion while overcoming any challenges your way.”