Mumbai-based couple Rajiv Rawal and Alka Bajoria knew they had a great business idea up their sleeve when they found friends raving about the plants at their home. Realising that urban professionals wanted hassle-free indoor plants, the 47-year-old couple decided to set up plant gifting service Passion Green in October 2012 with an initial investment of ₹10 lakh. After several individual and corporate orders, they went online this September, offering varieties in the ₹200-₹20,000 range. “Plants make for acceptable gifts, but buying is cumbersome if you have no prior experience. So we decided to make e-gifting of plants easier by segregating plants as per occasion,” says Bajoria. To make the process simpler for novices, the couple sends care instructions with orders and is always on call for guidance. The firm, which holds inventory at Khopoli and has store-in-store arrangements as well, is clocking revenues of ₹1 lakh a month (60% of which are indoor landscaping orders). The duo sources plants from the Karjat-Pune belt and some from northeast India. As the plants and their ceramic pots require careful handling, deliveries are restricted to Mumbai. They are currently using social media and their favourite customers — corporates — to hike the conversion rate. “We want to help people develop a green thumb,” says Rawal.