Well-known Sarasota florist changes ownership

A well-known Sarasota florist has changed hands. Beneva Flowers was recently purchased by Family Flowers, a Pennsylvania-based florist, marking the third family of ownership in the Sarasota company’s 40-year history. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

David Shuel was the seller, after buying Beneva Flowers in 2015. During his 10-plus years at the helm, Shuel grew the company, adding a warehouse near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport that supported the weddings and events side of the business, which has its retail headquarters at 6980 S. Beneva Road.

In addition to expanding the company's footprint, Shuel says he “elevated” the brand.

“We had gone from just a traditional flower shop to a luxe flower shop” that could provide “more unique flowers,” Shuel tells the Business Observer. Under his ownership, he adds, the average order size went from $75 to $150.

But, Shuel says, his biggest accomplishment was that “we were always able to make an impact” and employ about 30 people while serving a range of clients, offering everything from corsages for graduates to casket spray for memorializing loved ones to bouquets as symbols of affection. 

Throughout his tenure, Shuel says: “We were able to continue to make everybody feel important.”

He says he approached Family Flowers about purchasing Beneva Flowers so he could pursue his next venture, which he has not landed on yet. It will probably involve “buying businesses, scaling them and just building a nice portfolio of businesses,” Shuel says. “It was really hard to do that” while owning Beneva Flowers, which required “100 balls in the air at any given time.”

The sale closed in June, according to Shuel, who says the process took about eight months.

Family Flowers, which has purchased more than 95 floral brands, says that after an acquisition, it continues operating flower shops under their brand names with their teams in place. The company has more than 45 locations in 11 states and growing, according to its website. It has been family-owned since 1952.

Around the region, Family Flowers has acquired several florists over the last decade: Flowers by Edith in Lakeland in 2024, Artistic Flowers in St. Petersburg in 2020, Naples Flowers in 2018 and Fort Myers Floral Designs in 2016.

Beneva Flowers was founded in 1986 by Arthur Conforti, whose son, Art Conforti, took over ownership in 1992 before selling the business to Shuel in 2015.