Colorful Blooms: Crayola Ventures Beyond Crayons, Now Offering Vibrant Flowers

Crayola, known for its brightly colored crayons for over a hundred years, is expanding into the floral industry. On Tuesday, the subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, announced the introduction of Crayola Flowers - an online flower shop offering vibrant bouquets and boxed flowers.

However, the company has stated that the new venture serves a dual purpose. In addition to being an online flower shop, it will also function as a fundraising platform. When customers make a direct purchase, 10-50% of the sale will be donated to a charity or entity chosen by the customer. Nonprofits can also utilize the floral storefront to support their own fundraising campaigns. To develop the online flower shop, Crayola has partnered with Mrs. Blooms, an importer and distributor of fresh-cut flowers including daisies, mums, hydrangeas, and roses in various colors. Bouquets are available at prices ranging from $49 to $150, and they will be shipped directly from farms to consumers all across the country.

Crayola is getting into the flower business with the launch of Crayola Flowers, an online marketplace for fresh flowers.

Crayola Flowers

A colorful corporate history

Since its inception in 1903, Crayola has expanded its product line beyond traditional wax crayons to include various arts and crafts materials, coloring books, immersive Crayola "experiences," and unexpected collaborations, such as its recent partnership with Crocs to create crayon-inspired footwear, as reported by Footwear News.

According to Warren Schorr, senior vice president of business development, global licensing & experiences, the goal is to take the Crayola brand into the floral industry in a unique way. In an interview with CNN, Schorr stated, "Instead of exclusively selling flowers on demand, we aim to combine the concepts of color and creativity with promoting acts of kindness."

The list of available charities or entities that the buyer can donate to is extensive. It includes renowned organizations such as 4-H, American Heart Association, Autism Speaks, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the Humane Society, St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital, and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Crayola announced it has launched Crayola Flowers, a retail and fundraising platform.

Courtesy Crayola Flowers

Nonprofits have the opportunity to establish their own personalized flower shops on Crayola Flowers. The platform provides a range of toolsets that allow them to determine various aspects of their campaign, including the landing page, available bouquet options, pricing, campaign duration, and automated email notifications, according to the spokesperson.

Additionally, Crayola Flowers allows for-profit organizations, like local small businesses, to create fundraising campaigns that contribute to community causes like soup kitchens and disaster relief. Nevertheless, all campaigns undergo a vetting process to confirm the necessity of the campaign, demonstrate nonprofit status or valid identification of for-profit entities and administrators.

Crayola Flowers partnered with Mrs. Bloom's, an importer and distributor of fresh cut flowers.

Crayola Flowers will have a mobile flower truck/traveling storefront as part of their on-the-road component. This truck will be set up at various events to show support for local and national nonprofits, the company announced.

Schorr said Crayola Flowers launch was three years in the making. "As horrible as the pandemic was, it gave us time to explore and develop this innovative platform," he said.