The archive · Commerce & Marketplaces · Strategic decision · 2016–2023
Floward bets end-to-end Gulf flower delivery wins gifting: $150M revenue, $156M pre-IPO
Kuwait-born Floward owns sourcing, floristry and last-mile flower delivery; COVID scales it 3→17 cities and 50x, then a $156M pre-IPO Series C.
Floward
What the business is
Online flowers and gifts marketplace with end-to-end control — sourcing, local floristry, packaging and same-day last-mile delivery — across MENA and the UK.
Starting capital：$34.2M raised before Series C ($27.5M Series B, June 2021, led by STV and Impact46); $156M Series C in Feb 2023 led by Aljazira Capital, Rainwater Partners and STV.
How it started
In 2016 Abdulaziz Al Loughani and partners took on a troubled investment in Kuwait's Q8 Flowers; they rebranded it as Floward, rebuilt the operating model and went pure-play e-commerce. After early traction in Kuwait, the team expanded into Saudi Arabia, funded by friends-and-family and a family office before Impact46 became the first institutional investor.
What happened
COVID became the accelerant: Floward grew from 3 to 17 cities in 2020 and scaled revenues 50x through 2021. A $27.5M Series B led by STV in June 2021 funded expansion; by late 2022 revenue crossed $150M, it bought Kuwait fragrance brand Mubkhar (scaled from 4 to 34 outlets) and entered gifting bundles. In February 2023 it raised a $156M pre-IPO Series C led by Aljazira Capital, Rainwater Partners and STV, with valuation up 3.8x since the previous round.
How it ended up
Still running and expanding: as of 2025-07-21 Floward was launching new Saudi cities such as Yanbu, and in May 2025 unveiled MENA's first robotic flower vending machines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE; the planned IPO had not been announced as of 2026-09-02.
Background
Floward is a Kuwait-born, Riyadh-based online flowers and gifts platform founded in 2017 after Abdulaziz Al Loughani and partners rescued a troubled investment in Kuwait's Q8 Flowers. Its bet: Gulf consumers would make flowers a mainstream gift if delivery were reliable, so Floward took end-to-end control of sourcing, local floristry, packaging and same-day last-mile delivery instead of being a pure marketplace.
The team proved the model in Kuwait, then expanded into Saudi Arabia — a market with no strong flower culture — using friends-and-family money before Impact46 became the first institutional investor. COVID accelerated everything: the company grew from 3 to 17 cities in 2020 and scaled revenues 50x through 2021, and a $27.5M Series B led by STV followed in June 2021.
By late 2022 revenue had crossed $150M; Floward bought Kuwait fragrance brand Mubkhar and moved into gifting bundles. In February 2023 it raised a $156M pre-IPO Series C led by Aljazira Capital, Rainwater Partners and STV at a valuation 3.8x higher than the previous round, with 50M flower stems delivered in 2022, 400+ brand partners and 1,000+ direct jobs.
As of September 2026 Floward is still scaling: it continued opening Saudi cities through July 2025 and launched MENA's first robotic flower vending machines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in May 2025, while the planned IPO has not been announced.
What has to be true
- End-to-end control made quality predictable, which is what a same-day flower delivery promise depends on.
- Betting on Saudi despite its weak flower culture meant entering a huge, underserved market before local rivals could define it.
- COVID's shift to online gifting and cashless payments turned a timing bet into 50x revenue growth in a year.
- The pre-IPO positioning with Saudi investors (Aljazira, STV, Rainwater) lined up local capital for a regional listing.
What can be applied
In a market with a weak category culture, owning the full chain — sourcing, floristry and last-mile — turns a commodity order into a reliable gift and lets a newcomer define the category.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-02 Floward still operates its flowers-and-gifts e-commerce across MENA and the UK with same-day delivery, and its own press page shows continued expansion: new Saudi cities such as Yanbu in July 2025 and MENA's first robotic flower vending machines, live in Saudi Arabia and the UAE since May 2025. It has not announced an IPO since the February 2023 pre-IPO Series C, and in the verified record it remains privately held under chairman and CEO Abdulaziz Al Loughani.
Sources
- Mena start-up Floward raises $156m in pre-IPO funding round
- Floward Raises US$156 Million In Pre-IPO Series C Round
- Floward's IPO
- Floward Expands Further in Saudi Arabia with Launch in Yanbu
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