Tinder for farmers: new app connecting flower growers

Swipe right on beautiful blooms using Grown not Flown next weekend, the Australian invention connecting local growers with consumers.

A ‘Tinder’ app for flower growers is working to connect small-scale Australian flower growers direct to consumers.

Glenmore flower grower Nikki Davey launched her app Grown not Flown in 2021, in a bid to improve traceability and encourage people to source their blooms close to home.

Nikki Davey is encouraging the public to buy their Mother’s Day flowers from local producers next weekend. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

“We want to celebrate the provenance of flowers, the same way we do with food, and to think about flower miles like food miles,” Nikki said.

“There’s a slow flower movement at the moment, and we’re promoting locally grown flowers, instead of the mass produced flowers from overseas.”

Flowers such as natives, perennial wildflowers, and proteas are all excellent choices for sustainable, seasonal bunches, particularly with Mother’s day coming up, Nikki said, while also providing an opportunity to spend money in your community.

Grown not Flown founder Nikki Davey, at her family’s flower farm Duck Duck Pig, in central Victoria. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

The idea for Grown not Flown sprouted for Nikki when her family were in the midst of succession planning their beef farm, and were convinced to trial a patch of perennial flowers.

Nikki now grows and sells flowers from her business, Duck Duck Pig.

“They did really well, so we have been expanding ever since,” Nikki said.

“I’m a real data geek, and I wanted to see what technology was available, and there was no digital platform to market the flowers other than social media. The main thing being if we were going to build (an app) for ourselves, why not built it for everyone, to make it easy to connect and buy local flowers?”