After: the same café corner, planted by PILF, with plants on the shelf and along the window ledge

Before: a café seating corner, bentwood chairs at small round tables under a bare wooden shelf, and an empty window ledge

Partners

Plants you can borrow and your customers can steal

PILF designs, installs, maintains, and sells plants. You just keep being you.

Partner with PILF

What PILF does

Licensed and insured as a Chicago business; we manage payment and own associated risk
Picked for your place so every plant suits your light, room, and any unique needs you have
Safe for your space, following Chicago’s Food Code and ASPCA animal safety guidance

What you do

Just say yes. We do the rest.

How it works

We visit youto learn more about your business and what might work best for you
Then we installthe plants at a time you designate (usually takes <1 hour)
We come by 2-3x/monthto water, feed, and replace what’s gone home; additional visits as required
We sellCustomers scan or tap the tag, pay on their phones and carry their plant out.
You keep doing youRun your place like always. Your customers get something new to notice (and maybe take home).

Questions

What you give

What does it cost?

There’s no fee to host PILF. PILF pays for the plants, pots, installation, and every visit.

What does my team have to do?

Just what they already do. When someone takes a plant, they’ll show their proof of purchase on their phone, and a glance is plenty. Nobody handles money, stock, or care, and nobody has to chase or stop anyone: a plant that leaves unpaid is PILF’s loss, never yours.

How much space does it take?

As much as you want to give: a windowsill, a ledge, a corner by the door. PILF plans around the room you have and keeps plants clear of walkways and exits.

What you get

What does our place get out of it?

A planted room, designed for your light and your look, installed and looked after on every visit: the interior plantscaping businesses usually pay for every month. Nothing for your team to water, move, or police, and something new for customers to notice and take home. Your PILF Portal shows which plants your customers love.

Will plants survive our light?

They’re matched to your room, so yes. Some, like snake plant, ZZ plant, and chinese evergreen, live happily with no window, under ordinary room lights. If one struggles, it’s swapped.

What happens when a plant sells?

The customer carries it out, and PILF fills the gap. Someone who paid online has 5 days to collect, and your PILF Portal shows which plants are still waiting for their buyer.

Rules and insurance

We serve food. What will the health inspector think?

Plants stay in the customer area, never near food. Every pot is sealed, topped with stone, and checked on every visit.

Do we need a license or permit?

No. Customers buy from PILF on PILF’s website, and PILF collects and remits the sales tax. You aren’t the seller, so nothing changes about your own license.

Is PILF insured?

Yes: general liability. PILF answers for any damage its plants, pots, or visits cause, sends a certificate of insurance before install, and adds your business as an additional insured if you ask.

What stops bugs?

Every plant is quarantined first, then goes in with a fast-draining mix, a sealed base, and a stone top. Spot a gnat near a PILF pot, tell us, and we take that pot away. We take care of it all, so you don’t have to.

We’re a clinic. Is soil OK in a waiting room?

Yes. CDC guidance doesn’t restrict potted plants in areas for immunocompetent patients; it asks that plant care go to people who aren’t caring for patients, and PILF does all of it. Plants stay out of treatment and sterile rooms, and a vet clinic or any pet business gets only plants from PILF’s pet-safe list. Which plants those are →

What do we sign?

One page, sent by email: what goes where, who owns what, and the care routine. Month to month, no long-term commitment. Sign it on your phone or just reply “Agreed.”