Flowrette is the story of a brand we built together, Élodie and I, in October 2019, with €200 in our pockets and a strong hunch: dried flowers were about to become a must-have in home decor. Five and a half years later, the brand was sold to startup studio ELNIS. An unfiltered look back at an e-commerce adventure where every digital decision mattered.
At Bonu, we support e-commerce businesses every day. But this time, the client case is a bit special: it's our own brand. The one we built, grew, and eventually sold. We're telling you everything — not to pat ourselves on the back, but because the lessons are concrete, measurable, and applicable to any e-commerce project.
Each section ends with a "What you can apply" block: concrete actions, the tools we used, and how to adapt them to your business.
2019 – 2020: The bootstrap phase
The idea and the first website
It all started with a trip Élodie took to Bangkok, to the flower market at Pak Khlong Talat. There she discovered dried flower wreaths being made right in front of her. Back in Paris, she recreates the craft. The desire is there, the project takes shape.
In October 2019, we register Flowrette. Capital: €1,000. Actual starting investment: €200. The first website is a WordPress site we built ourselves, no design budget, no developer. A free theme, WooCommerce, homemade photos. The kind of site that does the job without dazzling anyone — but that sells. The lesson: don't wait for the perfect website to launch. We started selling within the first few weeks.
A few months later, we hire a WordPress developer for a second, more structured site. Better architecture, better performance, real work on categories and page hierarchy. This is the site that will drive SEO growth. If you're at the website creation stage, remember this: your first website is a prototype. It needs to go live fast. The second one is your real war machine.
The SEO strategy: the founding bet
From day one, our conviction is clear: SEO will be the main lever. Not Ads, not social — organic search. We see in Google Trends an explosion of the "dried flowers" search in France, but almost no structured competitor. The field is wide open.
We set up three axes simultaneously:
1. Massive editorial content
We create a blog with long articles (1,500+ words) targeting informational queries: "how to preserve a bouquet of dried flowers", "top 10 dried flowers", "dried flowers for weddings". Each article is designed as a gateway to the catalog. We structure internal linking between blog articles and collection/product pages. The goal: create a semantic cocoon that lifts the whole domain.
2. Surgical on-page optimization
Every product page is optimized: a unique H1 with the main keyword, carefully crafted meta title and description, alt attributes on every image with semantic variations, clean and short URLs. Collection pages are treated as true SEO landing pages with editorial content — between 300 and 500 words per collection page.
3. Link building via blogger partnerships
We reach out to home decor, lifestyle and DIY bloggers. The deal is simple: we send them a bouquet, they write an article with a link to Flowrette. These quality backlinks, on topical sites with a real audience, were decisive in establishing the domain's authority. Within a few months, Flowrette ranks first on Google for "dried flowers" and "dried flower bouquets".
CRM from day one
Alongside SEO, we set up an email collection strategy from launch. A signup pop-up on the site (10% discount in exchange for an email), a footer form, capture during DIY workshops in-store and at the Création & Savoir-Faire trade show. No sophisticated CRM at this stage — just Mailchimp and discipline. But this list, built from month one, will become the most profitable channel of the whole project. Email marketing isn't a "later" channel. It's a "now" channel.
The Covid effect, the shop, and the first million
March 2020. Lockdown hits. And, paradoxically, it changes everything for Flowrette. People stay home, rediscover home decor, and dried flowers become the perfect product: you order them online, they don't wilt, they last. Orders explode.
We open the Maison Flowrette in the 14th arrondissement of Paris: a production workshop, concept store and DIY workshop venue. The physical fuels the digital — every in-store customer is captured into the email list, every workshop generates Instagram content and word of mouth.
Artisanal production struggles to keep up. We open a first warehouse to absorb demand. The €1 million revenue mark is crossed.
What you can apply
- →Launch your site in 2 weeks, not 2 months. A clean WordPress or Shopify theme, 10 well-photographed products, an email capture form. Don't chase perfection: a site that sells beats a mockup sitting in a drawer.
- →Identify your top 5 priority SEO queries before creating content. Use Google Trends, Ubersuggest or Semrush. Look for high volume × low competition. Then create one optimized page per query with long-form content (1,500+ words). It's exactly the work our SEO team does.
- →Reach out to 20 bloggers in your niche for link building. Find them through Google searches, offer a value exchange (free product for an article). Target sites with DA 20+ and real traffic. 20 emails sent, 5 replies, 3 published articles: that's a normal ratio.
- →Turn on email collection from day one. Install a signup pop-up, offer 10% off the first order in exchange for an email. Set up at least a 3-email automated welcome sequence. Our email marketing expertise always starts with this fundamental building block.
- →Attend a trade show in your industry. Even a small, local one. It's physical visibility, networking, face-to-face email collection, and photo/video content for your social channels.
2021: Scaling up
Migration to Shopify
WordPress + WooCommerce did the job at first, but we hit its limits on a fast-growing e-commerce business: unreliable inventory management, limited product variants, an unreliable checkout funnel, degraded load times. The decision is made: we migrate to Shopify.
The gain is immediate. Checkout reliability, faster new product launches, an app ecosystem (Klaviyo, Judge.me, Matrixify…), hosting included, no server maintenance. For an e-commerce business that wants to scale without hiring a CTO, Shopify is an accelerator. We free up a considerable amount of time from operations to focus on product and marketing.
The SEO migration is handled carefully: systematic 301 redirects, preserving the URL structure, checking Search Console, submitting the new sitemap. Result: zero loss of organic traffic.
Setting up a real CRM with Klaviyo
We switch from Mailchimp to Klaviyo, the go-to CRM tool for Shopify stores. The change is structural. We set up:
- Automated flows: a welcome sequence (3 emails), an abandoned cart follow-up (2 emails at H+1 and H+24), post-purchase (review request at D+7, cross-sell at D+14), a winback at D+60. Each flow is A/B tested on subject line and content.
- Behavioral segmentation: by purchase history, by average order value, by email engagement, by source.
Product diversification and growth
The range expands: beyond bouquets, Flowrette now offers handcrafted candles, floral jewelry, DIY kits, vases, glass domes, and decorative objects. The brand becomes an artisanal concept store built around sustainable botanicals.
But growth creates its own problems. Artisanal production struggles to keep up. We move to a bigger warehouse. A second shop opens its doors. Revenue reaches €2 million.
What you can apply
- →Migrate to Shopify if you're still on WooCommerce and scaling. Time lost on technical maintenance, payment bugs and plugin updates is time you're not spending selling. Set up 301 redirects before migrating, monitor Search Console for 30 days afterwards. Our Shopify team handles this transition for our clients.
- →Switch from Mailchimp to Klaviyo. Native Shopify integration, advanced segmentation and automated flows change the game. Set up as a priority: welcome (3 emails), abandoned cart (2 emails), post-purchase (review + cross-sell). Goal: 25-30% of revenue via email in 6 months.
- →Structure your email calendar around key moments. Map out the 6-8 key sales moments in your industry. For each one, prepare a sequence of at least 5 emails. It's this kind of email strategy that turns a list into a revenue machine.
- →Diversify your product range intelligently. Analyze your data: what's the most-gifted product? What's the average order value? Offer complementary products at an impulse price point (€15-25) to increase average order value without complicating logistics.
2022: The correction
–30% revenue: the post-Covid reality
2022 is the year of the cold shower. The Covid effect fades, consumption habits normalize, and competition in dried flowers has intensified massively — the market we helped create now attracts dozens of players, from traditional florists to generalist marketplaces.
At the same time, acquisition costs explode. Facebook Ads CPMs rise sharply post-iOS 14.5, and Google Ads CPCs follow the same trend. Campaigns that generated a 4-5x ROAS in 2020 drop to 1.5-2x. The model based on cheap paid advertising becomes unsustainable.
Revenue drops by around 30%. It's a turning point.
"When your acquisition costs double and your market becomes commoditized, you have to stop pushing harder on the same levers. You have to change the playing field."
What 2022 teaches us is the fragility of a model too dependent on paid advertising. SEO keeps generating free, stable traffic — it's what keeps the ship afloat. But paid channels, which had been growth boosters, become cost centers. The mix needs rethinking.
What you can apply
- →Audit your dependence on paid channels. Calculate the share of your revenue that depends on Facebook Ads and Google Ads. If it exceeds 40%, you're vulnerable. Diversify before you're forced to.
- →Invest in channels with decreasing marginal cost. SEO and email marketing are expensive to set up but cost almost nothing to maintain. Every email sent to your list, every SEO article that ranks, generates revenue at a near-zero additional cost.
- →Lower your CPMs by working on your audiences. Focus your Social Ads campaigns on retargeting (warm audiences) and lookalikes of your best customers. Cut broad prospecting that burns budget.
- →Coldly analyze your P&L by channel. Attribute every sale to its acquisition channel (UTM + attribution model). Cut channels with a ROAS below 2x and reallocate the budget to the ones that perform.
2023 – 2025: Diversification and the exit
Élodie Gervet, co-founder of Flowrette
Launching paper flowers
Élodie develops a unique craft: handmade paper flowers. Petal by petal, each flower is shaped by hand in the Parisian workshop. The product is stunningly realistic and fits perfectly with the brand's DNA — sustainable botanicals, beautiful and maintenance-free.
The SEO strategy is replicated identically: targeted editorial content, optimized product pages, a dedicated semantic cocoon. The result: Flowrette ranks first on Google for "paper flowers". A new market captured with the same proven method.
Artificial flowers: a third SEO pillar
Building on the success of dried and paper flowers, Flowrette tackles a third universe: high-end artificial flowers. The market is more competitive, dominated by generalist players. But the SEO recipe works again: long-form content, surgical on-page optimization, internal linking between the three universes (dried, paper, artificial) to strengthen the domain's overall authority.
Flowrette reaches the top position on "artificial flowers" — a high-volume query. Three verticals, three #1 positions on Google. Proof that the SEO method is repeatable when executed with rigor and consistency.
Pop-Up Stores: industrializing the physical
The response to the D2C online slowdown: go find the customer where they are, physically. And industrialize that presence. We go from a handful of pop-up shops to a real machine: 30 Pop-Up Stores deployed across France. Each opening is treated as a mini marketing launch:
- Local traffic acquisition via PR and geolocated Facebook Ads campaigns within a 20-30 km radius of the pop-up. Modest budget (€50-150 per pop-up) but surgical targeting.
- Standardized merchandising: a reproducible deployment kit — furniture, in-store displays, signage, staff training in 2 hours. This allows scaling from 6 pop-ups a year to 30 without the experience quality degrading.
- A well-oiled logistics process: dedicated pop-up stock, automated restocking, mobile checkout (Shopify POS), tablet-based email collection in-store. Every pop-up is connected to the central CRM. It's growth hacking applied to retail.
The fundamental insight: dried flowers, paper flowers and artificial flowers are products you need to see and touch to fall in love with. Digital creates awareness, physical creates the emotional conversion.
B2B: a new distribution channel
We open a B2B channel by tackling the professional marketplaces Faire and Ankorstore. Flowrette now reaches resellers, concept stores, and independent florists across France and Europe. B2B mailing becomes a structural lever: we create specific sequences for professionals. Email marketing is now segmented into two universes: B2C and B2B, each with its own flows, campaigns and KPIs.
CRM reaches maturity
Klaviyo sequences become more sophisticated. We add sunset flows (cleaning up inactive contacts to maintain deliverability), VIP flows (high-LTV customers who receive exclusive early-access offers), cross-sell flows based on purchase history. Email remains the most profitable channel, with a near-zero acquisition cost across a base of tens of thousands of qualified contacts. At this stage, email marketing generates predictable recurring revenue — a real asset from a valuation and exit perspective.
Back to €2 million and the exit
Revenue gradually recovers, returning to €2 million. The brand is structured: diversified channels (D2C e-commerce, B2B, physical pop-ups), a solid customer base, sustainable SEO, mature CRM, well-oiled logistics processes.
In April 2025, we sell Flowrette to startup studio ELNIS, specialized in responsible DNVBs and made-in-France products. The transfer is published in the Paris Trade Register on April 2, 2025. ELNIS takes over the chairmanship, Côme steps down as CEO. The circle closes.
What you can apply
- →Test a pop-up store before opening a permanent shop. Rent a temporary space for 1 to 2 weeks. Invest €100-200 in geolocated Facebook Ads to bring in foot traffic. Measure: revenue per day, average order value, emails collected. If the ratio is good, industrialize it.
- →Open a B2B channel via Faire or Ankorstore. Even if you're a D2C brand, wholesale can represent 15-25% of your revenue with a very low acquisition cost. Create a wholesale terms page on your site and dedicated B2B email sequences.
- →Build advanced CRM flows. Beyond the basics (welcome, abandoned cart), add: a VIP flow (top 10% of customers by LTV), a cross-sell flow (based on purchase history), a sunset flow (cleaning up inactives after 90 days without opening). Your email list isn't a megaphone — it's a precision instrument.
- →Structure your brand as if you were going to sell it. Even if that's not your goal: documented processes, diversified channels, a qualified customer base, sustainable SEO, clean finances. A well-structured brand is worth more and runs better day to day.
SEO in numbers, right before the sale
Organic search was the backbone of Flowrette. Not a "nice to have" — the foundation. From day one, every page, every product page, every blog article was designed for SEO.
Google Search Console — Flowrette.com — March 2025
1.26 million monthly impressions, nearly 27,000 organic clicks and 100,000 sessions per month: this is what a patiently built SEO strategy looks like after 5 years. This organic traffic is what kept the business profitable even when advertising CPMs exploded in 2022. And it's a valued asset: at the time of the sale, the value of the SEO traffic was a major argument in the negotiation.
The 6 lessons from Flowrette
SEO is an investment, not an expense.
Flowrette's organic traffic was worth, at the time of sale, the equivalent of tens of thousands of euros in monthly ad spend. It's an asset that appreciates over time — and in the sale price.
CRM is built from day one.
Collect emails even before having a perfect product. Flowrette's Klaviyo list was the most profitable channel throughout the project's entire life.
Shopify changes the game for e-commerce businesses.
The migration from WordPress to Shopify freed up a considerable amount of time from operational management, allowing focus on product and marketing.
Relying on a single channel is a trap.
When Facebook Ads cost next to nothing, everyone was making money. When CPMs doubled, only those who had diversified held on. SEO, email, B2B, physical pop-ups — resilience comes from having multiple revenue sources.
Physical presence remains essential.
With 30 Pop-Up Stores, we understood that some products need to be seen and touched. Digital creates awareness, physical creates the spark.
A well-structured brand is a brand that sells.
Clear processes, diversified channels, a solid customer base, sustainable SEO. This is what allowed ELNIS to take over Flowrette with confidence.
Also read
HEYBIM: Top 3 on Google for local SEO, 7,000 impressions/month in B2B
How we applied the same SEO rigor to a B2B project in startup studio mode: city-by-city local SEO, link building, Shopify and lead qualification.
Your e-commerce project deserves the same rigor. SEO, CRM, Shopify, acquisition — we put the expertise we've built on the ground to work for your brand's growth.
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