How this female founded, owned, and operated startup is making the world a more beautiful place — one elegant rose at a time.
Delivering timeless beauty to the world: Boite de Luxe and Mandana Yusupova
Mandana Yusupova is a passionate, inspiring, and graceful breath of fresh air. The light in her eyes held me captive as she shared her passion and her story with me. Mandana radiates an unapologetic feminine energy. She vibrates this driven, and motivated presence which lifts you and grounds you at the same time. It’s no question why Boite de Luxe is such a beautifully brilliant and intelligently inspiring product and company.
As you’ll read in our interview, Mandana was inspired to create and deliver eternal elegance with real, preserved roses that last an entire year. Boite de Luxe delivers real Ecuadorian roses that are preserved through a meticulous process to maintain their peak freshness and structure. The flowers are preserved right when they are in their full bloom — when they are usually picked and sold as fresh cut flowers — conserving the flowers in their freshest and most beautiful state for much longer. This is the intricate, defining element of Boite de Luxe as a timeless luxury that leaves a lasting impression on its valued customers.
- What was your inspiration for Boite de Luxe?
“I’ve always had a passion for flowers and the beauty of nature. The inspiration itself came when I was buying fresh cut flowers for myself one day. I was with a friend who said ‘you know, someone who loves flowers would never cut them, but instead let them grow.’ It was then that the idea for Boite de Luxe blossomed.” - How long did it take for this idea of yours to really come into fruition?
“It was back in 2015 when I had this idea of selling preserved flowers, but I sat on the idea for a little while. Around February of 2017 is when I really started putting this idea into action. I began crafting the name for Boite de Luxe, the logo, and the boxes/packaging. I’ve always had an appreciation for elegant packaging, which inspired the design aesthetic of our product and packaging. I found a farm in Ecuador that harvested Ecuadorian roses, located a factory for the flower preservation process, and around June of 2017 we officially launched Boite de Luxe.”
3. That was a pretty short amount of time to accomplish all you did from your idea to the launch. How were you able to bring the drawing board to life in that brief time?
“I dedicated a lot of time to Boite de Luxe everyday. It was really all I thought about, all I wanted to do. I would be at my day job just researching everything for BdL all day, until eventually all the moving pieces started falling into place.”
4. What struggles have you faced so far in your journey with Boite de Luxe?
“Currently one of the biggest struggles I’m facing is customer care. Our customers and their experience with our products is everything to me. We’ve been dealing with some technical issues, such as shipping deadlines or items arriving damaged or broken. There was this one instance where a customer ordered a bundle of roses for his mom’s birthday. Not only did it not get there in time for her birthday, but when it did arrive, the roses were damaged. With Boite de Luxe we’re not just delivering flowers. We’re delivering an experience of love, appreciation, and beauty. When our customer didn’t have that experience with his mom, it broke my heart. I’m very personally invested in our product and our customers. We’re always looking for ways to refine our customer service.”
5. Have you had any entrepreneurial experience before BdL?
“Oh absolutely none! My husband has a great background in business. I was able to turn to him as my mentor and guide when it came to handling the more logistical aspects such as paperwork and legal work. It’s the ultimate learning process. I personally invested my own money into everything, and I’m still really navigating how to properly balance my budget and my investments. Whoever wants to start a business, there is absolutely no doubt you must have a passion for whatever it is you’re doing. There are many times you’re going to want to give up, when it all seems too hard or too much or when your goals just seem impossible. Anyone and everyone can have good ideas, but its the passion for what you do that keeps you persevering. Your passion will make you persevere, and its in this perseverance where success begins to happen.”
6. What does it mean for you to be completely women-owned and operated?
“To me, this is the most important element of my business. We’re trying to create an example to women everywhere about the necessity of empowering each other and lifting one another up. Boite de Luxe is comprised of moms, wives, and students who are all pursuing their dreams. I think women play just as big of a role as men do in dis-empowering one another.
Women place stigmas and judgments on each other, living in a mental and physical space of constant competition, and we’re here to prove women can do better, for each other.
I strive to create a happy, positive, and empowering presence at every cornerstone of BdL. I stay in touch with our competitors, connecting them to resources and outlets that could possibly aid them in achieving their goals. This is what being a woman in business is about. If we ever get to a point where we are seeking funding from investors, I am going to only seek female investors. And this isn’t to be prejudice against men, or anything like that. There’s only been a small space available to women in the business sphere for so long, we must equalize our presence in business.
Many people think feminism is about man hating and all this. Feminism is about raising the quality of life for everyone. Men are labeled with masculine stereotypes and expectations just as much as women are labeled. Feminists fight for men too. For men to be able to express their emotions with humility and grace instead of shame. That’s one thing I get to witness with our male customers. When men are buying arrangements of flowers to gift to their mom, sister, or significant other, you experience a sincere and emotional side to men that’s usually shamed. With BdL, we provide and encourage this space for men to express their emotions, to embrace their love and gratitude, and its been an amazing thing to experience with our products.”
7. What has been your proudest moment with Boite de Luxe so far?
“I think my proudest moments so far have come from our first pop-up shop this weekend. It’s really the first time I saw customers interacting with the product, and got to witness their experience with the elegance and beauty of Boite de Luxe. Getting to see the happiness and joy our products simply bring people has been so rewarding. My long-term goal is to have brick and mortar stores in cities like D.C., New York, and LA.”
8. What kind of impact are you trying to make or leave on the world with Boite de Luxe?
“My hope is to re-introduce beauty to the world. Our products physically and emotionally make the world a better place. From the core of our company internally, to the delivery of the flowers themselves — I aim to cultivate this positive presence, to create an experience for each individual and occasion that leaves a lasting impression of love, appreciation, and gratitude. Boite de Luxe is so much more than a bouquet of flowers. We are making the world a more beautiful place, from the inside out.”
9. What is your charge for women?
“My charge for women is to continually make an effort to raise each other up. It is crucial in the business world, and personally too. We must stop shaming other women. We must stop competing against each other. It is our responsibility as women to support and empower one another, because no one else is going to do it for us. It starts with us. No woman should ever have bad words in her mouth about another woman. Challenge what’s been deemed acceptable. There’s this “Queen Bee Syndrome” you’ll often see with women in business. That once a woman rises to the top and becomes successful, they neglect and even hinder other women from rising to the top as well. We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for the women who came before us and fought for us.
Band together, stick together, and we will rise.”
