Southside Blooms

What Southside Blooms does

Southside Blooms is a non-profit farm-to-vase florist operating as a social-enterprise project of Chicago Eco House, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (Tax ID: 46-5737246) founded in 2014 by Quilen and Hannah Blackwell. The company transforms vacant lots in underserved Chicago neighborhoods — beginning in Englewood in 2017 — into off-grid, solar-powered flower farms with rainwater irrigation, creating employment for at-risk youth and selling the output as fresh-cut bouquets, event florals, and subscriptions.

The product portfolio centers on fresh flower bouquets ($55–$105 per unit, free nationwide shipping Tuesday–Friday), the Empowering Blooms Club subscription (weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly), full-service wedding and event florals, the Flowers4Good fundraiser program for schools/churches/nonprofits with partner dashboards and automatic payouts, the Roots2Blooms African American history storytelling project, a tax-deductible monthly donation program ($25+/month with bouquet gifting), and a volunteer program. Distribution runs primarily through the company's own e-commerce site with local Chicago pickup, supplemented by the Zola wedding marketplace and a Butterfly referral network for wedding/event vendors.

The go-to-market is community-led and mission-driven: pricing is positioned at premium-but-accessible levels, marketing relies on content (SEO-optimized blog), social media, email, Google reviews (399 reviews, Trustindex "EXCELLENT"), and earned press. Revenue is generated from bouquet sales, recurring subscriptions, event services, and donations, with the nonprofit parent providing structural cost advantages via donated volunteer labor, repurposed land, and tax-deductible contributions.

Name

Southside Blooms

Legal name

Nehemiah Group DBA Chicago Eco House

Website

https://southsideblooms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Southside Blooms is a non-profit farm-to-vase florist and social enterprise of Chicago Eco House that grows solar-powered flowers on vacant Chicago lots, selling bouquets, subscriptions, weddings, events, and fundraiser products while employing at-risk youth.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Floristry

NAICS

Floriculture Production (111422), Florists (4593), Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAGAHAD

Greenhouse Floriculture (Cut Flowers)

Agriculture & Food Production/Crop Farming/Greenhouse, Nursery & Floriculture Production (Protected Crops, Ornamentals, Seedlings)

SECONDARYAFAGAHAE

Potted Flowering Plants & Bedding Plants Production (Annuals, Perennials, Plugs)

Agriculture & Food Production/Crop Farming/Greenhouse, Nursery & Floriculture Production (Protected Crops, Ornamentals, Seedlings)

SECONDARYBPAIANAI

Urban Renewal, Brownfield Redevelopment & Land Reuse

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Housing, Urban Planning & Community Development

Keywords

• Sustainable flower farming
• Flower subscription service
• Wedding floral design
• Social enterprise floristry
• Urban flower farm

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Flower Bouquet Sales: Direct sales of flower bouquets and arrangements through e-commerce website. Products include seasonal bouquets, subscription services, and custom arrangements for events. Shipping available nationwide or local pickup in Chicago.
2. Empowering Blooms Club Subscription: Recurring subscription service allowing customers to choose any product from the shop and receive deliveries on a recurring basis (monthly, bi-monthly, or weekly plans). Supports youth jobs and community transformation.
3. Donations: Tax-deductible donations to Chicago Eco House (501(c)(3) nonprofit, Tax ID: 46-5737246). Monthly donors at $25+ receive a free bouquet as appreciation.
4. Event Floral Services: Full-service wedding and event floral arrangements including bridal bouquets, corporate events, non-profit charity events, and social occasions.
5. Flowers4Good Fundraiser Program: Nonprofit fundraising program where schools, churches, and nonprofits sell eco-friendly flowers online. Each purchase supports at-risk youth jobs and sustainable urban farming.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Southside Blooms is a non-profit social enterprise that grows flowers on solar-powered, off-grid urban farms on Chicago's South Side and sells them as fresh-cut bouquets, recurring subscriptions, custom wedding floral designs, and corporate event arrangements. The enterprise doubles as a workforce-development program, employing local youth, and reinvests proceeds into Chicago Eco House community programs.

Product overview

Southside Blooms is a non-profit farm-to-vase florist operating as a social enterprise under Chicago Eco House. The company offers a portfolio of flower products centered around Fresh Flower Bouquets (available as individual purchases or through the Empowering Blooms Club subscription), complemented by event floral services for weddings, corporate events, social occasions, and non-profit/charity events. The Flowers4Good Fundraiser Program enables organizations to raise funds through flower sales, while the Roots2Blooms project tells African American history through floral storytelling. The company also accepts donations and offers volunteer opportunities as part of its mission to empower at-risk youth through sustainable urban flower farming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Flowers4Good: A fundraising program helping schools, churches, and nonprofits raise money by selling eco-friendly flowers.
• Roots2Blooms

Products and services

• Fresh Flower Bouquets Fresh-cut floral arrangements sold directly to individual consumers through the company's e-commerce store, with nationwide shipping and local Chicago pickup, grown on the enterprise's sustainable urban flower farms.
• Empowering Blooms Club Subscription Monthly flower subscription delivering seasonally rotating, sustainably grown bouquets to subscribers nationwide, directly funding youth employment and Chicago Eco House community programs.
• Wedding Florals Custom, sustainably grown floral design services for weddings, including bouquets and ceremony/reception arrangements tailored to couples seeking locally sourced, mission-driven florals.
• Corporate and Social-Occasion Event Florals Custom floral design services for corporate events, galas, conferences, fundraisers, and other social occasions, with sustainability and social-impact positioning aimed at mission-aligned organizational clients.
• Flowers4Good Fundraiser Program Fundraising program in which schools, faith-based groups, and community nonprofits run flower sales campaigns using their own referral codes, earning commissions on generated orders to support their organizational missions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Flowers from Southside Blooms last longer than typical flowers (customers report flowers lasting beyond typical 5-day lifespan)

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Chicago Eco HousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago Eco House is the parent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax ID: 46-5737246) that founded Southside Blooms as its social enterprise flower shop. Southside Blooms operates under the umbrella of Chicago Eco House, which leverages sustainability for the alleviation of inner-city poverty. Founded in 2014 by Quilen and Hannah Blackwell, Chicago Eco House acquired vacant buildings in Englewood and established the first off-grid commercial flower farm in 2017.
• ZolaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouthside Blooms is featured as a wedding vendor on Zola.com, one of the leading wedding planning platforms. Couples can discover and book Southside Blooms for wedding flowers through the Zola marketplace.

Scale indicators5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ProFlowers: Online flower and gift retailer with nationwide shipping and subscription offerings. Comparable on the direct-to-consumer nationwide shipping model, though operating at significantly greater scale and assortment breadth.
• Teleflora: National floral network aggregating thousands of local florists for delivery and event orders. Comparable as an incumbent in the same end market (flower gifting, events, sympathy) with a much wider physical-network footprint.
• 1-800-Flowers.com: Large incumbent online florist and gift retailer offering nationwide delivery, subscriptions, and a broad portfolio of brands. Comparable as a scaled competitor in the same product category but with substantially broader assortment and brand portfolio than Southside Blooms.
• FTD (Florists' Transworld Delivery): Long-established floral delivery network serving consumer and event orders nationwide. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the same category, with significantly greater scale and partner-florist reach than Southside Blooms.

Direct peers

• The Bouqs Co. Online farm-to-vase florist delivering cut flowers directly from partner farms to consumers and corporate clients. Closest comparable in vertical integration from farm to doorstep and emphasis on sustainable sourcing, with subscription offerings similar to Southside Blooms' Empowering Blooms Club.
• BloomNation: Online marketplace connecting consumers with local florists for bouquets and event flowers. Comparable on the marketplace-mediated discovery model that complements Southside Blooms' own e-commerce site and event bookings.
• Farmgirl Flowers: Direct-to-consumer florist delivering hand-tied bouquets nationwide from its own farm network. Comparable in the farm-to-table bouquet positioning, premium pricing, and nationwide shipping model that Southside Blooms also leverages.
• Venus ET Fleur: Premium D2C florist known for eternity roses and luxury arrangements sold online with a strong brand and gifting focus. Comparable on premium gifting positioning and direct e-commerce distribution, though at a higher price tier.
• Urban Stems: Online florist selling bouquets, plants, and gifts with nationwide delivery and subscription options. Comparable as a digitally native florist competing in the same D2C and subscription segments Southside Blooms addresses.
• BloomsyBox: Subscription-focused online flower delivery service with farm-sourced bouquets. Directly comparable on the recurring subscription mechanic and on nationwide cut-flower shipping.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bloomssouthside?lang=en
• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthsideBlooms/?hc_ref=ARQ1x2QVLtQNTb64uPaAxiN2BGiHTNTFFkWvPoX7MPUpDOfceu1pXZpxaUYoYChLs4E
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southside-blooms
• Instagraminstagram.com/southsideblooms/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southside Blooms