The relationship between two of God’s most wonderful creations, flowers and man, is most profound. Indeed, the fragrance of flowers has enriched the lives of human beings from the immemorial time.
The significance of flowers in human celebrations and tragedies is immense. Exotic flowers such as Carnations, Gerbera, Roses, Liliums, Bird of Paradise, Orchids, Gladiolus, Anthurium, Limoniums, Astemeria, Asparagus, Star Daisy and Yellow Daisy have constantly been a feature of our birth and death ceremonies, smoothing both, our entry and exit from this world. They are also much in demand for weddings, among all communities.
As the city grows, so does the florist industry. It is now booming, as fresh flowers become a part of every building’s décor. They are in demand for a variety of occasions and needs, from house warming’s to home decoration; corporate lobby arrangements to corporate inaugurals and functions, and in hotel rooms to soothe the senses. The florist business has also become very lucrative.
India is a land of many religions, and this means many feasts. Feast days are days of big business for the many florists in the city. These include Raksha Bhandhan, Diwali, birthdays, weddings, and Valentine’s Day etc, are some of the days that are marked in red on a florist’s calendar.
“We receive more than 100 orders, both online and over the telephone, for delivery in the city itelf, just on Valentine’s day,” says Terry Noronha, owner of a popular florist franchisee outlet at Kadri.
He adds, “On an average we receive around seven to eight orders daily, while on occasions such as on this Raksha Bandhan, we received around 15 delivery orders.”
Art of adornment:
Unlike in the olden days, today the floral arrangements are attractively gift wrapped, or placed in striking flower baskets and flower holders. This is the icing on the cake for customers as and florists alike.
These eye catching accessories consist of colorful jute mats and nets, a rainbow of tissue papers, colorful metallic wires, satin ribbons, plastic shimmer nets, shine net ribbons, non-woven papers, color sprays, dried beaded and colorful sticks.
Along with fresh flowers, florists also stock a wide colorful range of artificial flowers, to satisfy the needs of customers, but the demand is much less for artificial flowers.
Floral Jewelery:
Apart from floral arrangements like bouquets, bunches, garlands, customers also ask for jewelry sets (include of necklaces, earrings, rings, armlet) and hair bands made of exotic flowers.
“Muslim women place orders for floral jewelry to celebrate some of their important occasions, while Christian brides go for floral hair bands during weddings, their costs range from Rs: 2000 to Rs 250 respectively, cost can also rise depending upon the type of floral jewelry required,” says a florist Umesh Gowda from Karangalpady.
Is it a competitive floral market?
Though the number of florists in the city is rising, the florists stick to their prices, and draw their regular clientele, rather than discount the same in an effort to wean away customers from other florists.
City florists’ say that the peak sale period starts in the month of September and blooms till February. There is a slack in sales during the monsoon. Flowers are dearer during the peak season, as compared to period May to July, when prices decline.
Liliums and orchids are an expensive array of flowers, often used to adorn floral arrangements like bouquets.
Online market blooming:
For a florist at Kadri, a franchisee of a national chain, online orders are a major chunk of his business. This he says is due to the changing lifestyle, expansion of internet connectivity and increased convenience demanded by patrons.
“E-commerce is a key part of our business. Earlier, we were delivering floral orders to Udupi, Manipal and Moodbidri, which include transportation as well as delivery charges but now we have branches at Udupi and Manipal,” says florist Terry Noronha from Kadri.
Preserving freshness:
Basic flowers like roses, carnations, and gerberas need an air conditioned environment.
On maintaining regular freshness in flowers, Terry says: “We don’t buy fully bloomed flowers; instead we buy small bud flowers such as liliums, orchids, etc. Consequently for the upcoming orders, these tiny buds bloom according to their time and those which have already bloomed are used in bouquets and other floral arrangements.”
“Also, every day we have to throw out quite a few flowers which cannot be used in any kind of flora arrangement,” he lamented.
Unusual floral demands:
Often, for a customer, mere exotic flowers are not enough, the color of the flowers too matters a lot, and then it does not matter whether it is naturally colored or not!
“Many people demand from us, unusual flower colors, such as blue roses. In order to fulfill such demands we use liquid synthetic food color, which gives flower a desired color according to the order,” Noronha added.
“However customers have to pay an extra four to five rupees for each synthetically colored flower, which they don’t mind paying”, he stated. This is, according to Noronha, is because such orders are placed when theme parties/functions are organized with a particular color as the theme.
Indeed flowers bring joy to everyone’s lives – the beholder, the customer, and the florist and certainly Mangalore is enjoying the fragrance.
