The Green Room Flower Company are known “flower wranglers & magic makers,” a boutique florist based in Wanaka, New Zealand's South Island, work to create seasonal blooms for events and daily deliveries. Their unique flower arrangements not only are beautiful and sure to brighten anyone’s day, their business is consciously taking steps to help the environment.
We spoke with Rachel Benton, the Owner, Florist & Creative Director on how The Green Room Flower Company started and their steps on being eco-friendly. We also talked how Zapiet has helped their business and other tools they use on Shopify.
How did The Green Room Flower Co. get started? What was the inspiration?
I took over The Green Room Flower Company from the previous owner who I was working for. I was actually studying horticulture when I asked for a job at The Green Room Flower Company and Floristry. It became my most treasured career. Being creative everyday was a no brainer! Love everything about flowers and we are very fortunate to work with such beautiful product.
Not many florists declare intentions to help the environment. Tell us about your efforts for The Green Room Flower Co. to be eco-friendly.
We compost all of our green waste and one of our flower growers actually take most of it and used the compost for growing flowers and selling them back to us! It's the flower circle of life. We use compostable bags filled with water to wrap our flowers in & encourage people to buy vases instead of using floral foam. We use flower frogs in vases to hold the shape when arranging wedding florals. Frog are very antique but coming back into fashion.
Any memorable wedding or event that used The Green Room Flower Co?
We did a huge wedding at Jacks Point in 2019 and made a full flower wall that measured 7m by 2.5m plus a huge hanging installation over the dance floor. We love weddings & events and every one we create for is super special, we make every unique. I was personally involved in a huge NZ flower week as a featured florist up in Auckland in 2019 and that was epic - we had 3 large installations and free range with flowers, professionally photographed!
How has Zapiet helped being part of your business operations? How has same day delivery has gone for you?
It's works like a treat so far. It means we can put restrictions on who can order when and gives us enough time to have their flowers ready to be sent on the courier regionally too. It has saved us so much time going back and forth to customers saying sorry we can't send that one today as you missed the cut off time etc. (so many hours saved in man power!) It’s been really handy to add those features and the customer knows exactly the timeframe in which the flowers will arrive!
What are some of the more popular arrangements ?
All our fresh flower bouquets & dried arrangements are popular! Same with the salted caramels- locally made!
How important is your community?
Essential. Within the wedding industry we need our team to be outstanding (that includes other local vendors), same with the day-to-day shop. We couldn't do what we do without the love and compassion (and kind gestures of gifting flowers) from our local, national (and international) flower community.
The Green Room Flower Co. 🇳🇿 has so many beautiful arrangements, it’s no wonder how popular they are. To learn more about Zapiet or Zapiet - Pickup + Delivery view our video tutorials and explore the app. Get started using the Zapiet - Pickup + Delivery app from Shopify and get a 30 day free trial.
