gement of tulips or lilies, Farid had the idea to cut fresh fruit into pieces, some dipped in chocolate, and arrange them to resemble flowers. What started as a rather sweet, if straightforward, operation with one brick-and-mortar store in East Haven, Connecticut, has turned into a nationwide operation with over 1,000 distribution points across the US and a delivery time as short as an hour for select items.  In October 2024, Farid handed over the reins to his eldest child and longtime Edible Arrangements executive, Somia Farid Silber, who previously served as president of the company, in addition to other roles during her almost decade-long tenure.  Inside Retail connected with the millennial CEO to hear more about her plans to keep the family business relevant for loyal and new customers, including her fellow millennials, with expanded product offerings and refreshed digital marketing. Additionally, Farid delved into Edible Brands’ growing portfolio, including Edibles.com, an online marketplace for hemp-derived THC wellness products, and the fast-casual restaurant chain Rōti Modern Mediterranean. Inside Retail: In a nutshell, what is Edible Brands, and what are you trying to accomplish with the company? Somia Farid Silber: Edible Brands is the parent company of Edible Arrangements, Rōti Modern Mediterranean and Edibles.com. It all started with our leading brand, Edible Arrangements, in the late 90s, and we have since grown to hundreds of locations across the country, covering 70 per cent of US households within an hour.  We are really proud of our last-mile delivery infrastructure, powered by our best-in-class e-commerce platform, and have been focused on delivering joy and celebrating moments that matter with customers across the country. In January 2025, we acquired Rōti Modern Mediterranean, including its intellectual property (IP) and 17 restaurants. We are excited to share that we will be growing that brand through franchising beginning this year, and already have a few markets we’re ready to start growing in very soon.  Edibles.com, launched last year, is our health and wellness marketplace for hemp-infused products. Our goal with the company is to create accessibility for the category and an environment that features and highlights safe, trusted brands. Especially since it is a pretty saturated market today, and you don’t always know what the different products are for, or how they can help you live a better life. Our priority is really around all things safety and security, and with that, also trying to influence federal policy as much as possible for the category. IR: You have an incredibly unique relationship with the brand in that you have quite literally watched it grow, alongside your five siblings, from day one. Was it always in the works for you to one day take over as CEO, and how has your personal experience guided you in your role today? SFS: I always call Edible Arrangements my seventh sibling, because I’ve grown up with the brand. I was six years old when my dad opened the first store in East Haven, Connecticut, so I started working in a retail environment at a very young age. I’ve done everything from skewering fruit to dipping strawberries to wrapping arrangements. I’ve taken orders over the phone, worked at the front of house, and made deliveries, which I still love whenever I get the chance. So I developed an intense, customer-first experience of growing up with the brand. Then, when I started working here full-time on the corporate side, I had the opportunity to work across teams, including technology and operations, as well as e-commerce. I’ve had a little bit of experience in every department, which has given me a very well-rounded understanding of the brand over the last 10 years and really helped me understand the inner workings of the business.  Growing up with the brand has given me a different kind of appreciation for it, and the experience has really helped me become the leader I am today.  IR: During our conversation, you referred to yourself as a millennial CEO. What does that mean to you, and how may that change how you are running your business? SFS: We are all about bringing in the next generation of customers to the brand. It’s a top priority for us.  We are looking for more people like me to become our customers and to figure out how we, as Edible Arrangements, can be a solution provider for busy young families or for people who want to treat their business clients. It’s been really fun for me to be taking over at the stage when we’re also going through a next-gen transition with our customers. IR: What are some of the ways that you’re trying to transition this brand for a younger generation of customers? SFS: One of the first things that we did was start to introduce lower price points over the past few years. Historically, when people think of Edible Arrangements, they think it’s too expensive. So we’ve made it a priority to launch SKUs that work for a variety of occasions and price points. Secondly, we’ve launched a variety of new categories, so we are so much more than just fruit arrangements.  Now, if you go to our website, you’ll see that we have flowers as well as other shelf-table items like chocolates. We’ve also introduced a whole new marketplace gifting experience where you can buy a variety of products, like coffee, tea, or pretzels, for different occasions. The expansion of our product portfolio has also enabled us to introduce the brand to the next generation of consumers.  Then the third step was to think about how we are marketing to different consumer groups. As you know, the one-size-fits-all type of messaging that gets put out to everyone doesn’t really work.  We’ve started adding much more personalisation to our communications with consumers, and we view each channel differently.  Our team has done a really stellar job of enhancing the content, tailoring it to the audience, and improving promotions accordingly. That personalisation piece has been really important to us.  We’ve also got a really fun marketing and social team in-house that’s always keeping up with trends and using social listening to understand what different types of products our customers want to see. For example, we’re looking at matcha right now and will be introducing a line very soon.  That part of the work has been really exciting, and it’s nice for us to have the flexibility to create products that are relevant to consumers today. Further reading: Gymshark and Skims’ founders discuss building 21st-century defining brands