Stopping to smell the flowers

After seven years, Bai Jie and her husband found that married life had become stale. They would come home after work to a house with no sense of joy or romance.

Then one day, Bai decided to order a bouquet of flowers to brighten the atmosphere. It came with a card carrying a specially printed poem. She cleaned the house and placed the bouquet on the dining table - and was then taken by an impulse to cook.

When her husband arrived home and saw the flowers, food and the tidy house, he began talking to her. "I never thought this bouquet would save my marriage," Bai says.

The "miracle" flowers were from Poems, a flower delivery business in Beijing. Launched last year, Poems makes themed bouquets with poems and sends them to customers each week to freshen up their lives.

"I looked at my own life and thought this idea would be great for me," says co-founder Shen Li.

"When I was a newly-wed, I bought flowers every week and invited my friends around. My friend and co-founder Liu Min was expecting a baby and she said the flowers were uplifting."

Shen and Liu sensed a business opportunity. "Market research proved us right. Many middle class families have their houses and cars, but they often find life chaotic. They can feel alone in a fast-changing society." Shen and Liu listen to their customers and hope every bouquet renews their "heart and soul".

Previously, most flower deliverers packed their flowers in a box in layers. When delivered, many of the flowers were wilted or even crushed.Over three months, the Poems team designed a new box that lets the flowers "stand". "We believe every flower and bud has its dignity, like people. Our flowers will be in bloom when they arrive," Shen says.

"Florists arrange the bouquets as the flowers arrive in Beijing and they are sent out to customers the next day."

The biggest challenge was keeping stock fresh.

They chose a reputable express delivery company, but they still suffered unexpected troubles. Soon after launching, snow storms in Beijing hindered deliveries. "The moisture-holding fiber on the stalks froze, so we had to pay more to keep the flowers fresh," Shen recalls.

Poems conducts trial deliveries of new flower types to sort out those that are too fragile.

Both Li and Liu worked for the Chinese edition of Harper's Bazaar before they started Poems, and they used their media experience to promote the company on social media.

Poems staff meet for poetry readings and floral design sessions every fortnight. "Each editor will read one of their favorite poems and share the story behind it. Editors and florists and photographers will discuss the poems, floral designs and photographs," Liu says.

She was surprised when Chinese media and celebrities supported their venture, with their former employer, Trends Media Group, even booked the service.

"We were running on a shoestring at the beginning so we couldn't afford to advertise. Celebrity endorsements on Weibo (microblog) and Wechat brought us a lot of fans," Liu says.

Poems orders flowers mostly from south China's Yunnan Province, and sometimes Netherland and Australia. Bouquets are priced at about 150 yuan(24.5 U.S.dollars), around half the price of most florists.

"Modern life is hectic and many people have little time to read, let alone enjoy a poem," says Shen. "Every week, we enable people to stop and smell the flowers and read a poem and to reflect on life for a moment." Endi