ProFlowers at the Good Guys award ceremony

ProFlowers donates 42 beautifully arranged centerpieces for 2010 Nice Guy of the Year Awards. Read more on our FaceBook

ProFlowers Now Offers Premium Roses by Passion Growers

Valentine’s Day 2009 is upon us, marking our busiest season of the year. Being the single largest deliverer of flowers over the Valentine’s Day season leaves a lot to be done, but pushing the envelope on quality has always remained a core part of the business.

This year ProFlowers has partnered with Passion Growers, quite literally the world’s most renowned rose grower, to offer the highest quality roses on the market. Adhering to the highest possible quality and control standards, Passion Growers specialized only in roses. By using both the best farming technology available and specialized fertilizers, these roses are marked by their size, unique coloring, and big beautiful heads.


ProFlowers featured these roses at The Golden Globes Access Hollywood “Stuff You Must” Gift Lounge, where celebrities mingled and were given the bouquets. Pictured here, Christian Siriano from Project Runway.

Ten Years Later and ProFlowers Still Growing Fresh From The Fields

ProFlowers Celebrates its 10th Year this Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day marks ten years of “growth” for ProFlowers®, the online fresh flower marketplace. ProFlowers.com delivered flowers for the first time on Feb. 14, 1998 and is one of the highest-rated and fastest-growing flower companies in business.

Ten years ago, ProFlowers delivered its first 500 bouquets of roses shipped direct from a single farm in California. This Valentine’s Day, the company expects to serve more than a million customers with 185 different varieties of fresh cut flowers shipped from eight different countries around the world.

ProFlowers was founded to solve a specific problem: Americans wanted to buy flowers more often but did not because of their high price and short vase life. To address those issues, ProFlowers made a strategic decision to use then-emerging Internet technology not only to sell direct but to ship direct to consumers. The company’s proprietary e-commerce platform eliminated middlemen and provided customers with direct access to the world’s best growers. While other dot-coms have come and gone, ProFlowers has experienced consistent growth over the past ten years from zero to almost $300 million in annual revenue.

The company’s innovative business model allows customers to receive a higher quality, fresher product at a lower price point, while growers receive significant benefits through improved profitability. The company and its people continue to be recognized for their pioneering approach.

ProFlowers was named Internet Start-Up of the Year by the San Diego Software Industry Council (SDSIC) in 1999. CEO Bill Strauss, the company’s first employee, along with company founder Jared Polis, won the 2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in San Diego. As the customer base grew, so did the company, expanding from a small start up staff to more than 300 employees today.

“From day one, our business has been about changing the way America sends flowers. We took a new look at a very established category and discovered the best way to make customers happy was to deliver beautiful flowers that stay fresher, longer at an affordable price point. We were the first to offer one dozen roses online for $29.99 and then two dozen roses for $29.99 – while protecting the income of our growers,” said Bill Strauss, CEO. “Equally important is the employee experience – we strive to make ProFlowers a fantastic place to work and take pride in the loyalty of our employees as much as our customers.”

In 2003, the company changed its name to Provide Commerce, Inc. and went public on NASDAQ at $15 a share. In 2006, Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LINTA, LCAPA) ("Liberty") purchased Provide Commerce for $477 million or $33.75 a share.

“Provide Commerce’s superior business model and high-quality leadership team caught our eye early on,” said Greg Maffei, President and CEO of Liberty. “The company continues to hire and retain top talent, enabling the innovation necessary to exceed customer expectations. These strengths combined with ongoing solid sales growth make Provide Commerce an important asset for Liberty and a brand that will continue to be a strong performer for us.”

About ProFlowers®

ProFlowers® is run by Provide Commerce, Inc., which operates an e-commerce marketplace of websites for perishable goods that offers fresh, high-quality products direct from the supplier to the customer at competitive prices. The company's platform combines an online storefront, proprietary supply chain management technology and established supplier relationships to create a market platform that bypasses traditional supply chains of wholesalers, distributors and retailers.

Provide Commerce® launched its marketplace in 1998 to sell and deliver fresh cut flowers for everyday and special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, birthday and anniversary events, through its ProFlowers® brand and website, www.proflowers.com. Provide Commerce also offers fresh fruit and confections direct from the supplier to its customers at Cherry Moon Farms®, www.cherrymoonfarms.com, and Secret Spoonsm, www.secretspoon.com. For more information, please visit www.providecommerce.com.

Liberty Media Corporation is a holding company that owns interests in a broad range of electronic retailing, media, communications and entertainment businesses. Those interests are attributed to two tracking stock groups: Liberty Interactive, which includes Liberty Media’s interests in QVC, Provide Commerce, IAC/InterActiveCorp and Expedia, and Liberty Capital, which includes all Liberty Media’s assets that are not attributed to Liberty Interactive, including Liberty Media’s interests in Starz Entertainment Group and News Corporation.

Upcoming Flower Holidays

February 14 – Valentine’s Day: Place your order for Valentines Flowers now and we'll make sure they get there.

March 23 – Easter: There are a number of beautiful Easter Flowers available.

May 11 – Mother's Day: Order your Mother's Day Flowers today!

Popular Flower Types

Carnations – Carnations are one of the world’s most popular flowers and generally mean love and fascination.

Daisies – Daisies signify cheerfulness and innocence.

Iris – Taking their name from the Greek word for “rainbow,” irises can covey a spectrum of meaning, including: wisdom, courage, faith, hope, and admiration.

Lilies – With many striking varieties, lilies hold a number of meanings. Calla lilies symbolize beauty; tiger lilies represent wealth and pride; and stargazer lilies signify innocence, purity, and honor.

Orchids – With over 25,000 varieties, orchids represent beauty, love, luxury, and strength.

Roses – Roses are a sure sign of love and appreciation, but each rose color has its own special significance. Make sure you’re sending the right sentiments when you refer to your Guide to Rose Colors and Meanings.

Sunflowers – Sunflowers are cheery flowers that represent loyalty and longevity.

Tulips – The tulip is a comfortable flower choice that symbolizes perfect love.

Articles About Flowers

Our Flower Guide includes articles on everything you want to know about flowers. Here are links to our articles:

· Birthday Flowers by Month
· Birthday Gift Ideas
· Breast Cancer Awareness
· Chinese New Year
· Corporate Gift Ideas
· Easter Flowers Guide
· Flower Meanings
· Fall Flowers Guide
· Halloween Decorating
· Holiday Decorating
· Holiday Decorations
· How To Dry Flowers
· History of Mother's Day
· Mother's Day Flower Guide
· Rose Colors & Meanings
· Rose Traditions
· Summer Flowers
· Thanksgiving Decorating
· Valentine's Day Roses
· Valentine's Day Flowers

Flower Gifting Occasions

Anniversaries – Send Anniversary Flowers, including long stemmed roses, and more.

Birthdays – Birthday Flowers make birthdays brighter; send some today.

Congratulations – Nothing says congrats, like a beautiful bouquet of Congratulations Flowers.

Get Well – Send a speedy recovery with Get Well Flowers from ProFlowers.

Housewarming – Houses become homes with Housewarming Flowers from ProFlowers.

I’m Sorry – Say it like you mean it; apologize with I’m Sorry Flowers and be forgiven.

Just Because – Sometimes you don’t need a reason. Tell some you care with Just Because Flowers and put a smile on her face because she does on yours so often.

Love & Romance – Nothing says, “I love you,” like Love & Romance Flowers from ProFlowers.

New Baby & Kids Gifts – Celebrate new life or the early years of one with New Baby Flowers and Kids Gifts from ProFlowers.

Sympathy – During times of grief, Sympathy Flowers can offer the love and support that you want to convey.

Thank You – Sending Thank You Flowers is always a thoughtful touch that is just right.

Other Brands

Cherry Moon Farms delivers gourmet gift baskets. Whether you’re looking for healthy organic fruits, devilishly delicious chocolates, or salty Superbowl-friendly snacks, Cherry Moon Farms has the right gift basket for each of your gifting occasions.

Secret Spoon Sweets aims to satisfy the sweet tooth of each of your loved ones. Specializing in mouthwatering desserts, including cakes, cookies, brownies, truffles, and our favorite chocolate-covered strawberries, Secret Spoon delivers your favorite sweets fresh from the baker so that you can’t even tell they came by mail.

Uptown Prime delivers steakhouse quality direct to you. We know that you love those highest grade steaks and that top quality seafood, but having to go out to enjoy them is quite a nuisance sometimes. So Uptown Prime delivers steakhouse quality beef, including specialty cuts like American-raised Kobe and premium angus beef, always USDA graded and always aged for a minimum of 14 days, so you or your special someone can enjoy them in the comfort of home.