OCEANSIDE, Calif. —
This Mother's Day, a California couple is hoping to change the way you buy flowers. In this Zevely Zone, I went to Oceanside where Matilda's Bloombox is supporting local growers.
"Thank you for having us, yeah thank you for having us," said Emily and Matt Boschetto before giving their first television interview ever. I asked the married couple from San Francisco how they were feeling. "A little nervous but good," said Matt. Emily then said, "I feel like an English person that I have just made it in America!"
If you want to root, for a mom-and-pop operation, this is your chance. Matt is a California kid who fell in love with Emily who is from Yorkshire. In love, but hating their jobs, Matt and Emily started a business in their garage five years ago and named it after their first daughter, Matilda.
"I am one of those people who after a few glasses of wine says yeah, we should do that, it's a great idea, but then Matt is the guy who in the morning says we said we are going to do it, so we are going to do it," said Emily.
After a night like that; Matilda's Bloombox was born.
They decided to go after their dream and launch a flower business. They figured the best way to do this was to offer one box, filled to the brim with blooms each week. The price was set at $39, including delivery, and has stayed at that price even with rising inflation.
Customers are given a do-it-yourself instruction sheet then cut and assemble the flowers in their own vase. A bloombox can be delivered whenever you want. "Some people have two boxes a week, some people only use us on occasions, on their birthday, on Mothers Day on Thanksgiving on Easter," said Matt.
The goal of Matilda's Bloombox has been consistent since the beginning; to support local growers. 'Local' includes farmers across the US, but many of those growers are in Northern and Southern California.
I met the couple in Oceanside at local flower grower named Mellano & Company. "They've got nearly 400 acres, and everything here is American certified and American grown," said Emily.
At a time when climate change and drought challenge growers, the couple urges customers to shop local. "Mellano is a great example of that, you are in the this massive beautiful farm in Oceanside," said Matt. Emily added, "It keeps the investment there. For us, we just want to be a good example to our kids."
"The flower industry has always been a part of my life. I am 4th generation in the flower business. When Emily and I were talking about different business concepts, things that we could do, and things that could make us happy – flowers were the first thing that came to mind," said Matt.
"There’s no reason you should pay more than $100 for a bouquet of flowers. We are able to keep costs down because we are not paying people to arrange the flowers and because we’ve looked for ways to keep costs low as a business," said Emily. The couple says when flowers are overpriced the industry suffers. "It just becomes an unaffordable luxury, you know less people buy them, less people enjoy them," said Matt.
Which is why with a Matilda's Bloombox some assembly is required. "It looks amazing," said Emily who helped me put together an arrangement. Their company is growing, and so is their family. "Yeah, we've got Matilda, Humphrey and Daphne," said Emily proving the family of five really is a mom-and-pop operation.
To learn more about Matilda's Bloombox, click here.
UPDATE: I confirmed with the company that there is no delivery charge to San Diego. Please click this link for update information.
Watch more Zevely Zone content below: