Europeans spent $42bn on houseplants and flowers according to The Economist and searches on Google for selected houseplants such as Cactus, Aloe Vera and Devil's Ivy have increased nearly tenfold.

The trend is being driven by the younger generations with millennials accounting for 33% of houseplants sales. More likely to be urban dwellers, plants provide both beautiful indoor greenery as well as functioning as pollution purifiers.

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Whilst dominated by major retailers, indoor plant startups such as Patch in the UK and The Sill in the US are building their brands and customer communities through 'how-to' videos and workshops. Instagram has been their social platform of choice with #plantsofinstagram one of the most popular hashtags.

Not only an interior trend, indoor plants are thought to make calmer and more restful environments enabling new brands to align with wellbeing communities too. According to the University of Exeter in the U.K., plants reduce both psychological and physiological stress and increase productivity by 15%, a benefit that workplaces are keen to incorporate.

As forecasters predict more of us will be living in cities, the future looks bright for businesses that can not only provide the plants but also the accessories to display and kit to look after them. Read on to see what startups are taking advantage of this trend and the opportunities we think would be interesting in this space

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