Marie Maas recently launched The Tree Boutique, a new company that offers corporations and residents of the Milwaukee area the opportunity to send and receive fresh-cut evergreens as gifts this holiday season.
“My family has a long-standing tradition of going together to cut down a fresh-cut Christmas tree during the holidays,” Maas said. “This was really my way of trying to pass on that nostalgia to others who might not get the opportunity to have a fresh-cut tree for the holidays.”
A corporation can receive group discounts and can purchase gift cards redeemable for any size Christmas tree via The Tree Boutique website (www.TheTreeBoutique.com) or a resident can purchase an evergreen to be delivered personally to their home or another destination.
“The cards are packaged in holiday boxes, and can be sent to clients directly or given to employees,” Maas said. “Receivers of the cards can go online, enter in a unique redemption code, pick out their tree and set up the delivery date for themselves.”
The website features various types of trees available, including pictures and information on which trees are the most fragrant and which ones hold their needles the longest.
“People may not be familiar with the different types of evergreens, so we wanted to provide shoppers access to information to walk them through a process of picking out the tree that would best fit them,” Maas said.
The trees range from small tabletop trees to large, full-size trees of various types. They range in price from $35 to $99 for residential trees.
The trees are priced according to size and type and include free delivery anywhere in the metropolitan Milwaukee area, Maas said.
The trees will be purchased from a tree farm in Shawano on a wholesale basis and shipped in a large truck to a storage facility in Milwaukee. Christmas trees are sold under various USDA grade ratings, and The Tree Boutique has purchased only the highest-premium grade Christmas trees from the farm, Maas said. They also offer 100-percent money back for quality assurance.
“After the trees are cut and bailed at the farm, they will be shipped here on three to five different delivery dates before the holiday,” Maas said. “Customers can then choose which delivery date best suits their needs and have their tree delivered free of charge that same day to ensure freshness and quality.”
In her first year, Maas is tapping into family and friends to get the deliveries accomplished, but hopes to expand her business in the future.
“I actually just came up with this idea about a month ago,” she said. “If it is successful, I think it is something that can be duplicated in various markets. I am definitely looking to expand in future years.”
Maas is focused on the Christmas tree aspect of her business, but says there might be opportunities to expand her business in other places as well.
“I just think it’s a really great gift idea for the holiday season,” Maas said. “A miniature tree can be sent to an office client as an alternative to flowers, or a resident of Milwaukee, who might not be able to get a real tree because of convenience, the mess or not being able to fit one in their car, can have a fresh cut tree delivered right to their home before the holidays.”
In the meantime, Maas continues in her day job as account executive at Mueller Communications Inc., Milwaukee.
