In the early 1990s, Vikaas Gutgutia wanted to send flowers to his girlfriend, Meeta, in Delhi. But the bouquet he ordered through a local florist disappointed him: the flowers were of poor quality and the delivery was not on time.
For someone who had grown up around the flower trade, the experience highlighted a gap in the market. Gutgutia began exploring whether flowers could be sold through a more organised retail business, with better quality and service.
That experience eventually led to the launch of Ferns N Petals (FNP) in 1994. Meeta, the woman he wanted to impress with the bouquet, became his wife in 1995. The company reported revenue of Rs 1,085 crore in FY26, up 25 percent year-on-year, according to Reuters.
Gutgutia did not initially see flowers as a business that could deliver the scale he wanted. He grew up in Vidyasagar, near the Bengal-Bihar border, in a family involved in flower cultivation. After moving to Kolkata for his education, he studied commerce at Bhawanipur Education Society College and helped at his uncle's flower shop.
Despite that exposure, he was not convinced that the flower trade offered significant business opportunities.