The Family

The Family

So how exactly did BOKAY start, you ask? From the creative and wacky minds of 4th generation florists! BOKAY is the brainchild of Kevin McCarthy and its story begins in 1952. With a small loan from his aunt, Bud McCarthy, Kevin’s grandfather, founded “Bud McCarthy’s BOKAY Shop” in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Bud’s BOKAY shop quickly came to be known across the city for its superior product and outstanding service. For the first seventeen years, Bud’s father, Ernest, worked in the flower shop with his son. Bud’s ambitious son, Brian, made his own waves in the flower business before teaching his son Kevin the ropes. 

Fast forward about 70 years from when Bud McCarthy founded his BOKAY shop…

 

As a real florist, Kevin saw problems with “order gatherers” - companies who take profit on orders without touching flowers themselves - and national online retailers - who only seemed to care about getting more sales of their generic designs. Often, flowers that arrived weren’t fresh, weren’t personal, and sometimes looked totally different! So, what happened? Our team saw the need for a fresh take on something that the floral business had lost.  

"There was a moment where I thought, how did something so personal as sending flowers, become so impersonal?"

- Kevin McCarthy, Founder + CEO

Kevin McCarthy, a 4th generation florist, saw this as a huge opportunity. Combining the personal touch of real florists with the latest technology and a playful twist was just the answer:

Enter: BOKAY. 

The whole idea of BOKAY was to create a true way for people to create custom, personalized, flower arrangements that they could design every aspect of themselves. And add in one of the most important factors: at an affordable price. The idea became a reality: BOKAY makes ordering flowers fun! You’re able to truly build your own arrangement! You pick the flower choices, pick the flower colors, the greenery and even the vase the flowers come in! We’re able to mix modern technology with human touch. Even though you’re personally designing and building your own flower arrangement, we have experienced florists hand making the arrangement you designed with flowers from around the world.

Our mission is to Deliver Love. Happy designing, we can’t wait to see what you create!