Artificial flowers: Silk venture that can earn you a tidy sum

Kenya is a global powerhouse in the production of fresh flowers. While fresh flowers continue to scoop the country billions of shillings in revenue every year, a related product has found a new breed of entrepreneurs.

The option is silk flowers, commonly known as artificial flowers.

In one of my pastime adventures almost a decade ago, I decided to pursue interior design and it is during one of my classes that I came to learn about silk flowers - except on a negative note.

My trainer made a negative comment on silk flowers that made me feel they were just plastic and horrible to bear.

Ten years later, I came by an online article talking about the versatility of artificial flowers fancied as silk, and as my curiosity became stronger through reading and research, I came to meet Mary Nyagah, a budding entrepreneur who fell in love with flowers at a young age.

At some point, Mary's family would move to Uganda, where she learnt a little more about flower arrangement and upon her return to Kenya, she decided to take the leap with silk flowers and launched her own enterprise, Lorma Florium.

There may not be any flexible comparison of silk flowers to Kenya's fresh roses, carnations or even alstroemeria among other cut flowers, but speaking from the view of a flower studio owner who lives to reinvent the glory of artificial flowers, this is an industry worth tapping into if looking for a business idea to venture into.

So, what are the essentials?

Passion

As an aspiring woman in business, you must define your passion. While this may sound cliche, it matters when that passion pushes you to learn the craftsmanship of choosing the right flowers, and versatile varieties and also making perfect arrangements. For Mary Nyagah, passion elevated her knack of trade in 2022, and now she's an owner of a flower studio located in Thome Estate, Nairobi.

A peak in the studio draws lots of inspiration and love for flowers, the bouquets are sophisticated and colorful, and if you are not one with a keen eye and curious sense of smell, you'd mistake silk flowers for fresh cuts at first sight.

Market Space

Once you define your intentions to venture into any type of business whatsoever, pay attention to the industry as a whole. While silk flowers is an industry of its own, the fresh flowers market is amongst Kenya's leading exports.

Therefore, you must ask yourself questions like; how will you make your business relevant to your potential clients, how will you convince them to buy a garland of silk flowers and not the pride of Kenya's fresh wreaths? "The market size is as big as you want it to be and it is determined by the demand that is plausible," says Mary.

"For instance, if event organisers decide that they'll be using silk flowers, then of course there will be that demand. Fresh flowers are often used to complement the silk flowers because people still want to smell roses and lilies. So, if you combine them with silk you are sure it's going to be a great combination."

Benefits

You must consider the benefits of choosing silk flowers, otherwise, you might end up not having marketing or selling points. The major benefit of silk flowers as a business in Kenya is the versatile varieties beyond our fresh flowers.

Mary is able to succeed because she stocks varieties from different parts of the world which gives her a milage with her clientele. The other benefit is that silk flowers are not perishable as opposed to fresh flowers, so you can clean and arrange them whenever you want once you receive an order.

"Sometimes because of the many incoming events, they need to be prepared early enough; and that involves cleaning, and arranging so that they are ready for the next client."

Organised and prepared

in any business, one is required to be armed with the pre-requisite skillset that enables you to handle your services or products with ultimate proficiency. Products such as silk flowers require regular cleaning and new arrangements every now and then. "Sometimes because of the many events, the flowers have to be prepared early enough, be booked and cleaned in time and readied for your clients."

Distribution channels

so, you've decided to go into the silk flower business. It's imperative to conduct your research on distribution channels - who are you going to sell the flowers to, where are they and how much does it cost to get the flowers to them?

Mary says that once you master your skill in silk flowers, you'll be able to figure out what your distribution channels are. This could be supermarkets, which would mean mass production, or for home use, which would be very exclusive. Of course, there are also events such as weddings or conferences; distribution channels could therefore be endless or limited depending on how skilled you are and your target market.

Innovate

Kenya is a follower of digital innovations so if you do not learn to incorporate modern techniques in entrepreneurship, your business might stagnate. Mary's Lorma Florium discovered the importance of technology in running the silk flower business and, thus, decided to create an App to help maximise sales but also train aspiring florists in floral arrangements.

"We created Flowerhood, which is our flower subscription App that you can download on Play Store or iPhones," says Mary.

Own your space

Last but not least, own your space! Get into any business of your choice with the utmost confidence and the courage to fight tooth and nail. You definitely need that courage in running a silk flower business because you are competing against fresh flowers, otherwise, how are you going to convince people to buy your products?

"Take a stand and believe in yourself, know it is possible because nothing is impossible, anything can happen and most of the time only when you let it. That has always been my standpoint and at the end of the day trust in God because He has given us the power to create wealth," says Mary.

[email protected]