Bouquets good enough to eat

It was one of the darkest hours of Jennifer Palma's life.

In September 2005, Palma was living in New Jersey and her husband had just died from bladder cancer after a six-month fight.

Instead of flowers, someone had sent her a fruit bouquet from Edible Arrangements.

"It brought a smile to my face," said Palma, who put the card away and didn't think about it again for a year.

One day while sorting through medi- cal bills and other papers, she came across the card again and decided she'd like to open a franchise in Fort Myers. She mortgaged her home and began to make arrangements.

"At the time, there was

only one in Southwest Florida

and that was in Naples,"

Palma said.

Since then a Cape Coralbased

Edible Arrangements has

also opened. An East Haven, Conn. floral shop started Edible Arrangements in 1999. Franchises began springing up in 2001 and there are now stores throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and the United Kingdom.

"I had been working as a bank manager," Palma said. "It was very stressful. They don't pay enough. I knew this was a franchise all over the United States. It was a big financial step, so I wanted to have a partner. My husband had a friend here from New Jersey. They said they wanted to do it, but they backed out after we had signed an agreement, so I was left holding the bag."

PHOTO JERRY SMITH Workers build edible arrangements at Jennifer Palma's shop in Fort Myers. Assembling an arrangement is labor intensive, Palma said. On June 4, Palma opened the doors to Edible Arrangements and already had one order under her belt.

The day before, a gentleman had stopped in and asked for an arrangement for his wife for their anniversary.

"I was shocked. I had a customer coming in and we weren't even open yet," Palma said. "I wasn't online. I had been waiting for months and I couldn't even fill his order. But I promised I would fill his order the next day and I gave him a gift of chocolatecovered fruits for being so understanding."

Two months later, Palma and her 10 employees are producing 16 to 20 fruitfilled baskets a day. They range from a $32 chocolate-dipped strawberry bouquet to a seriously large $200 berry chocolate bouquet filled with chocolate-dipped strawberries, daisy-shaped pineapples with cantaloupe buds and grapes.

"They're healthy. They're beautiful and they are delicious," Palma said. "We don't use any preservatives on any of our fruit. Everything is fresh."

The baskets can also be ordered locally and sent to other states within the delivery area of an Edible Arrangements.

Assembling an arrangement is labor intensive, Palma said. Kale needs to be packed into a basket. Cantaloupe buds are scooped out. Pineapples are shaped as daisies. Strawberries and oranges are dipped in chocolate. Grapes are put on a stick to resemble heather or lavender flower blossoms.

Walking into the shop, customers are greeted by the scent of fresh strawberries. A further whiff reveals the tangier smells of pineapples and oranges.

Each morning, the employees sample the freshly delivered fruits. Fruit not deemed of the highest quality is thrown away.

Customers seeking everything from anniversary gifts to centerpieces for corporate functions, order bouquets. Sometimes men give the arrangements to their significant others after messing up, Palma said.

But don't be fooled, she said. Men like the arrangements just as much as women do. Each can be customized with anything from poker chips to teddy bears.

"It definitely brings a smile to a lot of people," Palma said. ¦