Gifting as an industry is getting more personalised. The discerning audience is seeking more and more products which have an emotion attached to it, said Vikaas Gutgutia, MD Founder FNP (Ferns N Petals)
“Instead of sending a simple bouquet or a cake and a card, consumers want to go that extra mile so that the recipient’s feel special. People have also become more and more invested in digital gifting – giving a beautiful memory which they can relate to,” he said.
Gutgutia says that experiential gifting is also gaining traction, people are gifting the following – a dinner for two, balloon decoration and other such experiences which will bring a smile to the receiver’s face.
“We are also noticing that things are becoming sustainable and people are leaning towards environment friendly initiatives. These are the common trends which are aiding to the transformation,” he said.
Also another noticeable trend is that gifting is slowly becoming offline (the online trend which was prevalent for the past 2 years seems to be shifting), he added.
In the gifting industry the touch and feel of the product is also a deciding factor.
While talking about the Budget 2023 he said, “We are in the business of positive emotions, anything which makes the consumer happy will be beneficial to us.”
Though the company is optimistic about the upcoming year, it still doesn’t want to jinx it. “It is too early to predict any significant change in consumption pattern, June-July onwards we will be able to see whether the budget has been impacted or not,” he said.
While talking about the company’s future plans, Gutgutia said, “We are completely revamping and redoing our retail outlets, you will see a new FNP with new logo all across the country.”
The company is also expanding its footprints globally and post Covid its international expansion will be at a faster pace, which will be seen in 2-3 new countries, he said.
He added that the company didn’t really spend money on advertisements, but it is now planning to do so.
“FNP has been a word of mouth brand, earlier we have never really advertised or spent money on Cinema, TV etc. But now with the new logo, new entity and from Ferns N Petals to FNP – from a flower brand to the largest gifting entity, the message has to be called out,” he said.
“Next year we have a very ambitious plan to make this a household name, since we are already a familiar name in metros, we have a robust expansion plan in Tier 2 and 3 towns,” he added
This year the company is targeting 20 per cent from corporate sales, “We are seeing significant improvement and this year we are hoping for a substantial jump. Nowadays corporate gifting has become an integral part of HR policies,” he said.
Overall FNP receives 60 per cent sales from repeat customers and 40 per cent from new patrons.
The overall gifting industry (both online and retail) is estimated between Rs 40000 to 50000 crore, it said.
The brand is recording a 43 per cent YoY growth.
Revenue Split – Online – 70 per cent/Offline – 30 per cent.
Overall the business comprises 60 per cent flowers, giftings & cakes; 25 per cent from Weddings and Venues; 15 per cent comes from other verticals. FnP generates 75 per cent of the business online, while 25 per cent comes from its offline stores.
FNP has over 400 stores in 130 cities. FNP is undertaking extensive rebranding exercise by redesigning & reimagining the outlets in a bid to strengthen the brand identity.
