PULSE Newsletter Issue 10

This week, we celebrate the people making a difference through flowers, from Bunches being crowned the UK’s favourite family business to Floral Angels giving thousands of surplus blooms a meaningful second life.

A heartwarming story for UK floristry this year: Bunches, the online florist founded in 1989 by Erik and Sandra Hoving selling flowers from beneath an umbrella at a market stall in Mansfield, has been crowned the UK's favourite family business. The company won both the Midlands & Central People's Choice Family Business of the Year and the National People's Choice Family Business of the Year at the 2026 National Family Business Awards — with both categories decided entirely by customer vote.

Today, Bunches is run by the founders' daughter Dani and her husband Dan. The company has delivered more than 13 million bouquets since launching its postal flower service, but says its family values are unchanged from the day Erik and Sandra started out on that market stall. The People's Choice categories mean no panel of judges — it was customers who chose Bunches, nationally, above every other family business in the country.

Since 2013, a London charity called Floral Angels has been quietly doing something remarkable. Based at New Covent Garden Flower Market — in space donated by event florists Pinstripes & Peonies — and run entirely by volunteers, Floral Angels collects donated flowers from weddings, events, florists and retailers and restyles them into beautiful bouquets. Those bouquets are then delivered to hospices, elderly care homes, refuges and day care centres, to people who would not normally receive flowers.

To date, Floral Angels has delivered more than 20,000 bouquets. HM Queen Camilla is the charity's patron.

Floral Angels' philosophy is as follows: "We believe that flowers have healing properties which can impact people's recovery rate and well-being. When we deliver the bouquets we offer support, encouragement and a moment of kindness.

The flowers bring joy to all who receive them and this is what motivates our wonderful team of volunteers.  This is supported by academic studies which show that flowers have a positive effect on elderly patients."

Pinstripes and Peonies say: "We give every flower a continued purpose through our partnership with the Floral Angels who recycle flowers for local organisations, and our own Second Hand Flower Shop which raises funds for our Gardens for Schools initiative to create uplifting outdoor spaces that inspire learning and wellbeing for children in our local community."

Florists who have surplus flowers, off-cuts from events, or end-of-week stock could connect with their local equivalents or even start something similar. The model is simple: nothing goes to waste, and flowers reach people who genuinely need them.

A London-based wedding florist posted a TikTok tribute to garden roses that reached one million views in less than 24 hours. The comments section was flooded — people begging to know the variety, the grower, the vase life. It went as viral as floral content gets.

The florist's enquiry inbox? A handful of messages. Not a single order.

It's a story that's resonating across the industry right now, and it points to something important: social media virality and business conversion are two completely different things. Reach doesn't automatically translate to revenue. A video that teaches, inspires, or entertains can travel around the world — and still not bring a single paying customer through the door.

For UK florists investing serious time in content, this is worth sitting with. The florists winning online in 2026 tend to have a clear call to action, a local identity people can connect to, or a consistent presence that builds trust over months rather than individual viral moments. Going viral is a bonus. Community is the strategy.

Has social media worked for your floristry business? We'd love to know what's actually driving enquiries for you. Email us here.

27 September 2026 – National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs National Final — Floral Art

3 October 2026 – BFA Industry Awards Ceremony & Gala Dinner, Nottingham (FleurEx 2026)

October 2026 – FleurEx 2026 BFA's flagship event for retail florists and students

Bunches wins UK's favourite family business award — Yorkshire Evening Post (https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/recommended/online-florist-bunches-family-business-award-bouquets-8790113)

Floral Angels — floralangels.com (https://www.floralangels.com/)

Floral Angels — Chrysal (https://www.chrysal.com/en-gb/floral-angels-recyling-flowers-delivering-bouquets-of-kindness)

How the Floral Industry Is Winning Online in 2026 — Thursd (https://thursd.com/articles/how-the-floral-industry-is-winning-and-losing-online-attention)