According to the Ministry of Trade and Integration, in 2023 Kazakhstan imported 149.8 million flower pieces worth $61.1 million, which is a 29% increase compared to 2022 ($47.3 million).
The main supplier countries for flowers in our market are Ecuador, the Netherlands, Kenya, and Colombia. The largest import volumes come from Ecuador, which supplied flowers worth $37.5 million. Deliveries from the Netherlands amounted to $13.1 million, from Kenya – $4.8 million, and from Colombia – $3.4 million.
As our interviewee notes, entering the flower business in Kazakhstan is relatively easy – the entry threshold is quite low, but achieving significant progress is much more challenging. This is because strict financial discipline and a willingness to take risks are required. “At first glance, it may seem that the flower business is simple and profitable: buy-sell, order a new batch. In reality, there are many hidden challenges: it’s a perishable product, and the speed of its sale primarily depends on the quality of your team. It’s also crucial to know the condition in which the flowers are delivered, whether the dollar has risen or is stable, and if there are any social upheavals, as during such times, people are less inclined to buy flowers,” shares Saniya Tasbolatova, a participant in Forbes Kazakhstan's “30 Under 30,” who, along with her husband, is successfully developing a flower business under the Royal Flowers brand.
Today, there are 25 Royal Flowers stores in 20 cities across Kazakhstan. The flower boutiques run by the couple in Bishkek and Chicago are showing strong results. Their future plans include expanding into both nearby and distant foreign markets. “We want the Kazakh brand Royal Flowers to become international, and we know how to achieve that,” Saniya is confident.
Between Diplomacy and Economy
Saniya was born in Almaty, where she graduated from the 159th gymnasium named after Ibrai Altynsarin. As she admits, she was most fond of the humanities subjects in school, while math, physics, and other exact sciences were not her strong suit. Apparently, these preferences were inherited from her mother, a teacher of Russian language and literature. Saniya's father, Serik Seydumanov, is a well-known public figure and currently heads the Institute of Philosophy, Political Science, and Religious Studies, being an academician of the National Academy of Sciences. “Dad always said that the most important thing is to get a good education to be useful to your homeland. I dreamed of becoming a diplomat, so I diligently studied English in school,” recalls the entrepreneur.
After graduating from gymnasium in 2011, she received a grant to study international relations at Narxoz University. In 2012, she transferred to the London School of Commerce and Business, although she stayed there for only a year. “I always wanted to try studying abroad – the teaching is stricter and more modern there. I returned because my parents were moving to Astana at that time, and I needed to help them. In the capital, I graduated from the Kazakh University of Economics, Finance, and International Trade in 2015, majoring in Economics. However, my dream of a diplomatic career had not yet faded, so I enrolled in a master's program at the Diplomatic Academy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in Moscow, completing my studies in 2017,” Saniya recounts.
Upon her return, her parents insisted that she try her hand at public service. Thus, the young woman began working in a regular position at the Research Institute of Youth under the Nur Otan Party.
“The job, like many civil service roles, was unregulated – we often stayed until midnight, especially when we had to submit a report or were preparing for a large event. At that time, I started dating my future husband, Adil Tasbolatov. He had already attempted to enter the flower business. After work, when I had free time, I often visited his small shop to help out. Soon after, we got married, and I fully committed to this endeavor by leaving my job,” Saniya recalls. Initially, she did not delve deeply into the business processes. She simply arranged bouquets, interacted with customers, and “even helped with repairs.”
The Right Decision
“In 2017, when I fully transitioned to the flower business, Adil and I divided our responsibilities. I took charge of the creative part: designing bouquets, working with SMM, helping to develop scripts for salespeople, and determining the direction we should take. My husband focuses more on operational aspects, suppliers, and logistics. However, we certainly assist each other in everything and pay close attention to all the details,” Saniya says.
The entrepreneur insists that they did not seek financial support from relatives or investors to grow the business; they built everything with their own resources. “We reinvested all profits back into the business, taking nothing out, not ‘going out.’ At one point, Adil also started very simply: he once bought a bouquet for 6,000 tenge and sold it for a higher price. With that money, he bought several more and resold them profitably. That’s how it gradually started,” Saniya explains.
By 2020, the couple owned three flower boutiques in Astana and began to feel cramped in the capital, realizing it was time to open locations in Almaty. However, the pandemic intervened and severely impacted their business. Not only was offline retail virtually impossible for several months, but mass events – birthdays, anniversaries, weddings – were also banned. Consequently, people had no need to purchase flowers.
“Sales dropped significantly, and we began to think about what to do next. At the same time, we noticed that we had more online orders. We decided to focus on this area, especially since we had already had a decent volume of sales through delivery prior to that. Around the same time, we decided to launch our own franchising network under the Royal Flowers brand. Thus, instead of burying our business, the pandemic became a springboard for our growth. We quickly adapted,” Saniya smiles.
In 2021, the couple opened their first flower boutique in Almaty, initially focusing on developing the business through online sales. That same year, the first franchise Royal Flowers stores began to open in the regions of Kazakhstan. Today, the Tasbolatovs personally own four stores in Almaty and Astana – two in each city (they decided to close the third in the capital). All other regions of Kazakhstan are entrusted to franchisees. The cost of the franchise starts from 8 million tenge, depending on the city. The company employs around 100 staff, while franchisees have nearly 400 employees.
“Success has been possible due to the proper branding, – Saniya believes. – We managed to create a recognizable brand in this business. A great team, of course, has also contributed to our growth. This is how we built a broad franchising network. Furthermore, after purchasing a franchise, we do not leave our partners to navigate entirely on their own. We monitor their performance, provide advice, and ready-made solutions. They bring their employees to us for training, and we show them how we operate: explaining how to import flowers, how to package them, how to sell, and how to manage operations. It’s a whole system. Essentially, we pass on a ready-made business to them.”
A Bouquet Every Two Minutes
The focus on the online format has also proven successful. Today, over 75% of flowers are sold by Royal Flowers through delivery. The company has its own couriers, but during peak order times, they also engage third-party delivery services.
To further develop the business, the founding couple ordered the creation of an ERP system to automate business processes (“outsourcing – having our own IT staff is currently too expensive for us”). This will facilitate many operational areas: sales, accounting, production, warehousing, purchasing, personnel management, etc.
The company has built its own ecosystem. For example, they have their own warehouses equipped with refrigeration units. Since Royal Flowers bouquets are sold in special box-baskets, a production facility for their manufacture was opened in Almaty. They have also established the production of branded ribbons used to decorate flowers. “All this may seem not too complicated, but it significantly reduces the final cost of bouquets. Plus, we supply these boxes and ribbons to our franchisees and other flower shops – in the latter case, without branding,” Saniya comments.
In February 2024, the couple harvested their first batch of self-grown Dutch tulips, amounting to 1 million pieces. For this, a greenhouse was built near Almaty. The flowers were supplied not only to their own stores but also to other entrepreneurs. However, most of their flowers still come from abroad – Ecuador and Colombia. Deliveries are made by air, two to three times a week, with roses being the primary focus