The colors included in its standard 64-crayon box might have shifted a little over time, but the perception of Crayola crayons as bright, cheerful, and appealing has long remained the same. Children often learn the spectrum of colors available in the world from opening and experimenting with their newly purchased school supplies, while also learning new vocabulary words like “cerulean” and “cerise.” In turn, Crayola has leveraged its long-standing, well-trusted brand name to market other art supplies, such as papers, markers, and paints to help children express their artistic imagination.

Its most recent product line extension moves beyond children’s art, even if it still seeks to embrace the artistic, the cheerful, and the beautiful. By introducing a Crayola-inspired online flower shop, the brand promises to bring gorgeous, brightly colored flowers into consumers’ lives, brightening their day and their attitudes with vibrant bouquets. Crayola Flowers relies on a partnership with an existing flower distributor to get the plants that people order to their homes and offices, shipped directly from local farms.

In line with most flower retailers, Crayola Flowers relies mainly on its website as a sales channel. But in addition, it will maintain a traveling flower truck that can appear at events and outdoor markets, to expand its reach and leverage its brand logo.

Furthermore, even if online ordering is common in flower retail markets, Crayola Flower’s website is a little different, reflecting the brand’s dedication to being cheerful and adding value to people’s lives. In separate digital storefronts hosted on the main sites, nonprofit organizations and charities can host their own sales of flowers, as fundraising opportunities. In addition, the corporation itself donates a substantial percentage of the revenues generated from each sale to charitable organizations, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Wounded Warrior Project, or 4-H. Thus, a consumer can buy a cheerful bouquet for a friend and pay $75 to have it delivered to brighten their day, then also choose to send a donation equal to 10 percent of that cost to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, to enhance the well-being of children with life-threatening illnesses at the same time.

Flowers represent a discretionary, luxury purpose, even if they sometimes feel like necessities (e.g., on Valentine’s Day). But for Crayola Flowers, need and want are not the key considerations. Rather, it hopes to “unite this idea of color and creativity with spreading kindness,” for the giver and the recipient of the vibrant flowers, but also for the beneficiaries of organizations dedicated to improving people’s welfare. Flowers can make anyone’s day better; why not allow them to make lots of people’s lives better too?

Discussion Questions

1. Is this product line extension by the Crayola brand a well-justified one? Why or why not?
2. Should Crayola Flowers pursue additional retail channels? How might it use its physical, mobile trucks to build on its charitable goals, for example?

Sources: Parija Kavilanz, “Crayola, Beloved for Its Crayons, Is Now Selling Flowers?” CNN, September 19, 2023; https://www.crayolaflowers.com