Floral Image: A sustainable alternative to fresh flowers

Floral Image Cyprus is a sustainable flower business that delivers lifelike floral arrangements to corporations across the island. Created to emulate the real thing, but at a fraction of the cost and care involved in keeping fresh flowers, Floral Image offers an environmentally-friendly and more sustainable alternative option to businesses. Here, the company’s Franchise Owner, Carine Khoury, explains the philosophy behind the business and how the flowers are created in such a way that people have a hard time believing they are anything but the real thing: “The best compliment we get is when someone waters them!”

What is Floral Image about? What is the philosophy behind the business?

Floral Image offers a monthly delivery of sustainable flower bouquets to all kinds of businesses across Cyprus. Most employers would much like to display flowers in their workplace, but the costs and care involved in keeping a fresh arrangement beautiful can make it challenging. Addressing this challenge, our replica floral arrangements are stunningly convincing, with people often believing they are the real thing. The best compliment we get is when someone waters them!

Apart from offering lifelike beauty and great value, our vases enable clients to lower their carbon footprint since the bouquets are a water-free, pesticide-free, eco-friendly and reusable alternative. There is no minimum rental period, no contracts to sign, and every month a different design is delivered free of charge. And being free from pollen, and therefore free from bugs or flies, they are also safe for allergy sufferers. To sum it up, when it comes to flowers, fresh is not always best.

Can you give me a brief history of Floral Image? From what I have researched it first began in Australia?

That is correct. It was founded in 2000 in Adelaide by two friends who decided to give up their corporate jobs to pursue life as small business owners. Over 20 years later, it has grown into a successful franchise company operating in 80 cities across 18 countries globally. Floral Image flowers can be found in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Europe and the UK.

What made the company choose Cyprus to expand?

I guess you could instead say that Cyprus chose Floral Image. The product, as well as the service, are perfect for the local requirements given the hot climate. As we all know, it can be difficult to keep fresh flowers beyond 3 or 4 days in this environment. As with most franchise concepts, company expansion is closely linked to the country location of the businesspeople willing to become franchisees. Floral Image is a product distribution franchising company, allowing it to enter practically any market.

What are Floral Image flowers made from?

A team of professional florists designs the arrangements, using fresh buds as proxy. Depending on the flower type crafted, different materials are used to achieve the ‘real touch’ desired outcome. These can be fabrics or various types of plastics, because a rose, tulip or bird of paradise all have their unique look and feel. Metal wire, inks and dyes are involved, and the vases are made of glass. What all displays have in common is the epoxy resin, emulating the water at the base of the vase.

Once received here in Cyprus and entered into circulation, we do the regular deep cleaning, maintenance and sanitising of the arrangements to ensure the flowers look their absolute best on delivery day, free of any germs and safe for our customers to enjoy.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you become involved in Floral Image? Are you native or did you relocate to Cyprus? If the latter, how has your experience been so far?

I am German Lebanese and have been living in Cyprus since 2005, when my husband and I moved here after spending many years in international hotel management. When the opportunity presented itself to become a business owner with Floral Image in 2020, the transition made sense. We found out quickly that the timing was not great though, as we signed on the dotted line one week prior to the global lockdown in March of that year, but after a rocky start it has since been a great experience and a lot of fun.

I find the island’s business environment friendly, and the local community open to fresh ideas and new concepts. As with anything in life, success is linked to the effort you put in. My motto in life is ‘Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen’, so that is how I approach every day and so far, it has served me well.

Has the business been embraced by the locals?

It has indeed because the flowers speak for themselves. Sometimes prospective customers are sceptical when they hear our displays are not real, but it is always such a pleasure to present the arrangements and that makes being in this business such a joy. The product manages to convince, which is why we offer a one-week free trial. Flowers make people smile, no matter the language they speak or the country they are from.

Our client portfolio includes real estate companies, corporate offices, building lobbies, doctors’ waiting rooms, pharmacies, beauty salons, shipping companies, car showrooms and boutiques. The vases are especially popular in the hospitality sector across the island. Restaurants, bars and hotels love them as they are HACCP safe and need no maintenance at all, a dream come true for the Housekeeping teams!

For more information, visit Flora Image’s website: cy.floralimage.com