Former Burnaby resident Leanne Ma was looking for a new career when her sister delivered an idea right to her door.
Ma's sister, Nicole, who lives in Windsor Ont., sent her fresh fruit arrangements from Edible Arrangements.
"She's one of those people who loves to find new and interesting gifts and stuff," Ma said of her sister. "And she said, 'Hey, why don't you do something like this? This is such a neat idea.'"
Ma, who was an accountant previously, opened her first Edible Arrangements franchise on Arbutus Street in Vancouver, three and a half months ago.
"It's been great," Ma said. "A lot of people see the store and our van, they come in and say, "This is a really great idea. - it's like flowers, but you can eat it.'"
Now, she and her husband, Marshall Yee, are planning to open another store in Burnaby.
"When we bought this place, we had already thought of Burnaby," Ma said. "Burnaby is such a great city to be in. I think a lot of people (there) would like our business concept."
Ma is looking at setting up a shop near where she used to live, in the Brentwood area, by the end of the year.
While delivering fresh flower arrangements has its challenges, delivering fresh fruit arrangements has even more, Ma said.
The trick is to get the best, freshest fruit available, she added.
"It has to look great in the arrangements," she said.
The arrangements last three to four days in the fridge, according to Ma.
She creates arrangements for any occasion, she said, adding her customers have asked for sympathy, get well and birthday arrangements. Companies buy them for their employees, as well.
"A lot of companies are giving it to their employees, rewarding them for great work," she said.
Companies also buy the arrangements for office parties, and the company is also expanding to include weddings - such as centerpiece arrangements and small boxes of dipped fruit for wedding favours.
Valentine's Day is the company's busiest holiday, according to Ma, followed by Mother's Day and Christmas.
Arrangements start at $26, she said, but the store also sells boxes of dipped fruit.
The dipped fruit comes in many varieties - such as chocolate dipped strawberries covered in sliced almonds, hazelnuts or coconut.
The Burnaby NOW sampled the strawberries and found that the chocolate held up well on the car ride home and was meltingly delicious when eaten.
The most popular arrangements are the Delicious Celebration and Delicious Fruit Design, Ma said, which include the company's signature pineapple daisies.
"I think when the company first started, that was their original arrangement," she said. "Another really popular one is the Hello Kitty arrangements."
The Hello Kitty arrangement includes pineapple Hello Kitty cutouts and is bought for both children and adults, she added.
Ma said she is pleased by the success the store has seen in just a few short months and looks forward to expanding into Burnaby.
Edible Arrangements first opened in East Haven, Connecticut, in 1999 and is popular in the United States and Eastern Canada, she said, but franchises have only recently popped up in B.C.
"At first, I thought the business concept would not be as widely accepted," Ma said. "I'm just really surprised by how it took off."
For more on Edible Arrangements, go to www.ediblearrangements.ca.
