Pontevedra Loves Its 24/7 Flower Machines

Adriana Colombo has been running this service for a year and is already planning to expand it.

If there are any shop windows that truly catch the eye, it’s the florist displays — especially in spring. Flowers and plants are at their best and bring a splash of color to streets otherwise dominated by cobblestones and asphalt. Adriana Colombo has been connected to this sector all her life, but it was a trip to Ibiza that opened her eyes even further. For the first time, she saw a vending machine selling flowers and plants. She immediately dreamed of having such a machine at her own store. As soon as she returned to Pontevedra, she got to work installing the city’s first flower vending machine.

“Just a few days later, I was on a video call with a Polish company that installs them,” she recalls. A few months later, one of the facades of her flower shop featured a fully functioning machine.

Now that a year has passed since it was launched, the results couldn’t be better. And she’s already thinking about expanding.

“This first one was a test, and we’re very happy with it, but when you start thinking about expansion, you run into bureaucracy. Here in Spain, you can’t just set up on the street — you need a location that isn’t on public property,” says Adriana, who admits that for her, this means developing a new business model alongside the traditional flower shop.

“Some people don’t even go inside the florist — they just buy what’s available in the vending machine,” she adds.

The machine has several vending compartments, which she restocks every morning with fresh bouquets and plants. Demand is so high that on some days, it needs to be refilled again before closing time.

“Usually, the flowers stay in there no longer than a day and a half before we replace them. There are days, like Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day, when I have a dedicated person just to refill the machine,” says Adriana from Tendencias Floristas.

When she saw this initiative in Ibiza, she never imagined it would turn out to be so profitable.

“You can adjust the temperature in each compartment, which means the flowers are kept in perfect condition — even better than in a vase inside the florist shop,” explains the florist. This system allows her to offer services 24 hours a day. What matters most is that fresh flowers are always available.

This is especially important when the business is located right next to a hospital, as is the case with Adriana Colombo’s shop. For customers who can’t always pick up their orders during business hours due to their work schedules, she leaves the flowers in the vending machine so they can collect them whenever they like.

It helps streamline and add flexibility to her operations. “You’re extending your working hours to provide the best possible service,” she explains.

A Bonus for the Business

The plant vending machine means additional revenue. A year after installing it, Adriana admits that customers have grown accustomed to this 24-hour service, just like with other products available from vending machines. Having it located at the front of her shop allows her to provide this efficient service. The location perfectly takes advantage of being right next to the hospital.

She moved to Loureiro Crespo after many years of working on Cobián Roffignac. And although the Provincial hospital is expected to close as a healthcare facility in the medium term, Colombo doesn’t believe that sales will drop dramatically.

The passion for flowers is growing. She sees it every day — especially on weekends. There’s a kind of boom among young people.

“Many 16- or 17-year-olds come in with ten euros to buy flowers for their partner. It really surprises me — demand for flowers is growing, and the age of customers is getting younger and younger,” says the florist as she refills the machine.