Dive Brief:

• Balducci’s is opening a Blossom Bar at its Manhattan location in partnership with zero-waste floral company Repeat Roses, according to a press release sent to Grocery Dive. This is Repeat Roses' first retail floral shop.
• Open seven days a week, the Blossom Bar offers a weekly floral delivery service called Passports Floral Subscriptions. Shoppers receive an arrangement each week with a new design and theme, and flowers are recovered for reuse or composting. Bouquets are available in small, medium and large sizes starting at $180 per month.
• The Blossom Bar also provides professionally led 30-minute workshops for $18. The bouquets made during these visits are delivered to hospitals, nursing homes and shelters. Repeat Roses picks up the expired bouquets to make sure they are composted properly.

Dive Insight:

Fresh cut flowers and designer bouquets will be available at the Blossom Bar, and same-day delivery is also available in select areas of Manhattan for orders placed by 1 p.m.  

With the first Repeat Roses retail location, specialty market Balducci’s is bringing a new experience to shoppers with Blossom Bar they can't get at other grocers. Balducci's targets affluent, urban foodies who are looking for on-trend items and new offerings. 

The social impact of the experience is also a draw. Recent research shows shoppers are opting for purchases that pack meaning behind them, according to Penn Today, causing many brands to highlight purpose-driven efforts. Blossom Bar's hands-on floral arranging workshop will help Balducci's keep people coming to the store as well, especially as online floral services like Bouqs gain popularity. 

The retail flower market is expected to grow 6% between 2017 and 2023, according to a U.S. Floral Gifting Market report. The uptick in interest for local products has helped spur sales in floral departments that offer arrangements sourced within a 100-mile radius. The data also shows consumers are willing to pay a premium for local bouquets.

Specialty and gourmet grocers have struggled in recent years as more shoppers go online or seek out more budget-friendly options. Dean & DeLuca has shuttered stores across the U.S., while Balducci's closed in Manhattan a decade ago and reopened a few years later. Unique experiences like Blossom Bar are essential if the grocer wants to succeed this time around.