From Deseret News archives:
Bouquets smell and taste good
Floral fruit franchise blooms, though less than a year old
Sometimes it's from an office. Sometimes it's from a hospital. Sometimes it's even from a highway.
But it's always from someone wanting a "fruit floral bouquet." The Vauses own and operate Incredibly Edible Delites Inc., which specializes in floral-arrangement fruit.
"On the side of our vans is a huge fruit floral bouquet, and we've literally had people driving down the road next to the truck, calling us on their cell phone and saying, 'I'm driving next to your truck, and I'm looking at this, and I've got to have one of them,' " Doug Vause said.
"We get orders like that, and it's a blast. Our drivers have actually been waved over to the side of the road so people could get a brochure. . . . But the best form of advertising we have is with deliveries, the actual product. We will take the product to somewhere like an office or hospital and have people following us. Our delivery guys will hand out 25 to 30 brochures going through a hospital."
The company offers several types of arrangements, and the most eye-catching are a veritable explosion of red, yellow, orange and green. The signature design contains honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries (some with marshmallow centers), kiwi and grapes. The "Veggie Vantasia" sports cauliflower, broccoli, snow peas, cherry tomatoes, radishes, carrots, peppers and cucumbers garnished with turnip "daisies."
But the bouquets — ranging from $36 to $200, with examples at www.fruitflowers.com — can catch more than just the eye.
"The smell of the fruit is amazing. If you go into an office complex or a hotel or a hospital, when you're in the elevator, it's just amazing. People sometimes will follow you in, just because of the smell."
The floral fruit is designed to be an alternative for gift-givers tired of sending candies, flowers or gift baskets. While offerings expand during holidays such as Easter and Mother's Day, the typical gift-giving times are birthdays, anniversaries, even bereavement. Customers can sign up to get an e-mail notifying them of holidays during a particular month — can you say, "Administrative Professionals Week?"
"It's the type of product that brings joy and happiness," Vause said. "It's a fun product. The difference from flowers is that this is something you can eat, versus something you throw away. You get that big-bang impression you want in the beginning, and then you get to eat it."
The Vauses embarked on their food-flora venture recently. Doug Vause was CEO of several companies in Europe, and when the couple moved to Indiana, someone bought one of the franchise's bouquets as a housewarming gift.
