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Gift flowers should be chosen to depict a message with the sender's kansei and are bound by nature of flowers and social manners, to maintain social relationship between the sender and the recipient. Few buyers, but most florists, have expert knowledge of the flowering time, scent, price, and nature of each flower, and are experts in arranging flowers that meet a given purpose. The purpose of this paper is to incorporate handling constraints into the inference process of a kansei engineering system.

The paper collected the expert knowledge concerning nature of flowers, composing flower arrangements and social manners on gifts from specialists of flower arrangements including a florist and special books. At the same time, kansei evaluation experiments on the kinds of flowers and colors were conducted. The expertise and the results of kansei experiments were organized into a flower database and inference rules for choice of a main flower, arrangement shapes and combination flowers. The rules were implemented as server‐side programs. Users input information about the recipient, purpose of the arrangement and purchase information using a web browser. The system outputs a solution; a list of main flowers, combination flowers, greens and the shape of arrangement.

Traditional kansei engineering studies revealed the relationships between design elements and kansei with developing new analyzing methods. Different constraints come into the actual product design and manufacturing should be integrated with findings obtained from the kansei evaluation to successfully utilize kansei engineering for product development.

The inference rules will be able to tell the reasons for choosing the main‐ and combination flowers and arrangement shapes to satisfy the customers.

The proposed system suggests the original arrangement of flowers unlike most online florists selling ready‐made arrangements. The paper shows a solution to incorporate different constraints underlying in a real production process into the inference process based on the result of kansei analysis.

This paper aims to conduct a case study on the recent rise of floriculture industry in Ethiopia which has taken aback the stakeholders in the global flower industry. Further to understand this success, an attempt has been made to conduct an environmental appraisal of the floriculture industry in Ethiopia amid explicit promotional efforts of the incumbent government towards boosting floriculture exports. Particularly, the study intends to reveal the catalysts and barriers prevalent in the industry that concerns the growth.

The first stage of research involves a general assessment of global and Ethiopian floriculture industry using desk research. The second stage includes analysis of primary data secured through interview of managers at eight functional floriculture farms located around Addis Ababa. The study utilizes qualitative analysis of data acquired using judgmental‐cum‐convenience sampling and semi‐structured interviews with concerned officials.

The success of Ethiopia in the cut flower exports from Africa has been remarkable. Ethiopia enjoys certain advantages that create ample opportunities for being one among the principal producers and exporters of flower in the world. As a whole, the finding reveals that foreign investments, government support and the formation of the Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association are the major catalysts in the sector. However, the opportunities are not without threats. Infrastructural bottlenecks appended by shortage of agricultural inputs, narrow product range, and lack of adherence to international codes of practices are major among the perceived barriers. As a whole, there is a growing trend in the development of the floricultural industry in Ethiopia. With the attention given by the government to this sector coupled with the advantages that Ethiopia has, the country has been able to attract both domestic and foreign investors. Ethiopia's performance in floriculture acts as an eye opener for other African countries.

The study is of benefit to the floriculture industry as well as the investors and policy makers intending to support establishing floriculture industries in countries such as Ethiopia.

This paper aims to study carotenoids as a natural food colorant from Canna flowers. There is a growing demand for eco-friendly and non-toxic colorants, specifically for health-sensitive applications such as colours of food and textiles. Red Canna variety can be grown in normal garden situations and gives ample of flowers yielding good amount of natural colorant for both the purposes.

In the present work, ultrasound extraction of natural colorant from Canna indica flowers has been studied. The use of ultrasound is found to have a significant improvement in the extraction efficiency of colorants obtained from dry and fresh Canna flowers in different mediums. Ultrasonic cavitational processing has twofold advantages, it is an eco-friendly and cost-effective process.

The total carotenoid content in dry and fresh flower extract was found to be between 136.56 and 978.89 mg/kg. The assessment of antioxidant activity (AOA) in dry and fresh flower extract was found to be 5.78-78.33 per cent assayed by scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical and identified by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies.

The use of ultrasonication for the extraction of colorant has been the main feature and a step towards technological advancement in the area of finding newer method of efficient extraction of the colorant.

The ease of extraction due to ultrasound waves has been the highlight.

It is for the first time that the phytochemical data of red Canna flower and has been studied, the total carotenoid content and antioxidant activities of different extracts of Canna were measured. The extraction of natural dye from C. indica flowers using ultrasound has been found to have significant improvement in the extraction efficiency of the colorant obtained from flowers.

David Hartstein started KaBloom in 1998 with the goal of creating “the Starbucks of Flowers.” He successfully built brand recognition for the gardenlike shops, but problems plagued the young organization. Nearly three years and one recession later, KaBloom failed to live up to Hartsteinʼs forecast of exponential growth. This case has been designed for a graduate-level course in entrepreneurship/innovation. Students can compare franchising with other business models, examine the impact of organizational structure and leadership styles on business effectiveness, relate issues of supply chain management and logistics to environmental changes, and recognize the impact of innovation on business sustainability.

Edible flowers have traditionally been consumed for their nutritional and medicinal properties. Aponogeton distachyos is an aquatic flowering plant native to the Western Cape of South Africa (SA) that used to be a wild plant gathered during the winter months, but it is now considered to be underutilised and endangered. This study aims at gaining insights from different stakeholders into the activities across the plant value chain and their impact on the consumption of Aponogeton distachyos.

The study methodology involved the identification of different stakeholders in the plant value chain and conducting qualitative in-depth interviews during the data collection. Twelve study participants were selected via purposive sampling and interviewed using semi-structured interviews (face-to-face, telephone and online).

Nostalgic connection of the flower with local culture and heritage and its unique taste and flavour are key consumption drivers. Promotional and educational efforts by food advocates and at public events help raise consumer awareness, which is generally lacking. Limited geographic and seasonal availability, perishability, price and quality issues emerged, together with low awareness, as main barriers to more frequent and geographically spread consumption.

Although wild edible flowers have been consumed for centuries, there has been little attention to their nutritional value and journey to their final consumers. The present study identifies important challenges emanating at different stages of the food value chain to consumption of one particular neglected and underutilised plant, with certain implications for people's dietary quality, environmental sustainability and biodiversity of natural resources beyond Aponogeton distachyos and SA.

(1)Aponogeton distachyos is a neglected and underutilised aquatic flowering plant native to the Western Cape of South Africa (SA). (2)The plant offers benefits related to people's dietary quality, environmental sustainability and biodiversity of natural resources. (3)Flower's nostalgic connection with local culture and heritage emerge as a key consumption driver. (4)Its unique taste and flavour highly appeal to consumers. (5)Low awareness, limited availability, price and quality are main consumption barriers. (6)There is largely unexploited public policy potential for supporting dietary diversity through growing edible flowers.

This paper aims to question the capacity of firms embedded in global value chains to manage their natural resources in a sustainable way. Thus, it offers guidelines for more sustainable value chains.

While business strategies have focused on optimizing natural resource exploitation and on constructing global value chains to face sustainability issues, this study first explains why these strategies are not effective in preventing natural resource depletion. Second, it offers a model for anticipating resource depletion. The cut flower industry constitutes a central case to explain the model. Two other industry cases complement the demonstration.

To anticipate natural resource depletion and thus improve industry sustainability, firms must shift from the exploitation of endangered natural resources to the use of alternative local ones. This shift, however, encourages firms to reconstruct value chains and rethink how they create value within these new value chains. It also has an impact on firms’ growth strategy: they must replicate value chains on a local scale instead of taking part in global value chains.

The findings rely on illustrations from the cut flower, fishing and textile fiber industries. Generalization to other industries may strengthen the argument.

This study offers a model of sustainable growth for firms willing to anticipate natural resource depletion by offering a shift in value chains. It consists of exploiting alternative natural resources and of rethinking the value offered to consumers. Thus, it goes against current models that merely focus on optimizing natural resource exploitation within global value chains.

Flowers and fruits of Madhuca longifolia (Koenig) (mahua) tree are edible and used as traditional Indian medicines. The physicochemical properties of different parts of mahua are investigated. This study aims to estimate the different mineral contents, polyphenols compounds and antioxidant activities by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl inhibition, reducing power, free radical scavenging activity using 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays of mahua flower, ripe and unripe fruit.

Flavonoids were identified and quantified in yellow flowers and fruits of M. longifolia tree by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector. Low molecular weight carbohydrates were determined by the ICBio scan, a specific method for determining of carbohydrates. Mineral content is determined by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and atomic absorption spectroscopy. Physicochemical, nutritional and mineral properties of mahua flower, ripe and unripe fruit were investigated by the statistical approach of principal component analysis (PCA).

Ascorbic acid, gallic acid (GA), quercetin and myrcetin were the phenolic compounds identified and quantified in mahua flower and fruit extracts. Sugar profiling of mahua flowers and fruits confirmed the presence of inositol, sorbitol, mannitol, dextrose, fructose, sucrose, raffinose and maltose. The mineral content of Na, K, Mg and Ca was present in quite a good amount in all samples. Total phenolic content (TPC) was significantly high in mahua flower (25.3 ± 1.0 mg GA equivalent/g FW) followed by mahua unripe (15.8 ± 1.0 mg GA equivalent/g FW) and ripe fruit (14.3 ± 1.0 mg GA equivalent/g FW) at p = 5%. In contrast, total flavonoid contents (TFCs) were highest in ripe fruit, then mahua flower and unripe fruit. Positive correlations were predicted by PCA for mahua flower with TPC, antioxidant activity assays and minerals except for Na; ripe fruit with TFC and Na; and unripe fruit with maltose and sorbitol.

This study demonstrates the application of LIBS for the determination of elements present in the mahua flowers and fruits and reveals that mahua can be a good source of nutrients. Sugar profiling of mahua flower showed that it is a rich source of reducing and non-reducing sugar, proving that mahua flower juice can be used as a natural sweetener in the development of different food products, namely, biscuits, cookies, cake, jam, jelly, juice and squash.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights for flower retailers, horticultural practitioners and marketing managers into the prioritisation of cut flower attributes by German residents.

Applying a best–worst scaling approach, this analysis identified the relative ranking of importance amongst product attributes relevant to German consumers when buying fresh cut flowers. A latent class analysis determined four flower consumer segments for further study. The study builds on a sample of 978 consumers and is consistent with the most recent German census in terms of age, gender, income and federal state.

The best-worst analysis showed that intrinsic flower attributes, in particular appearance, freshness and scent were found to be more important to German consumers than the extrinsic attributes studied, namely, price, country of origin and a certification indicating fair trade. The latent class analysis determined four consumer segments that desire either budget, luxury or ethical flowers or more information about flowers. For all identified consumer segments, appearance was the attribute of greatest importance. The segments that desired luxury or ethical flowers, as well as the segment that desires more information were interested in appearance, but also had relatively large shares of preferences dedicated to flower freshness guarantees. The preference for freshness guarantees in addition to appearance may be interpreted jointly as a desire for not only beautiful and aesthetically pleasing flowers, but for sustained beauty.

Internationally, the study fills a research gap by exploring consumer’s relative preference for cut flower attributes. In contrast to existing studies on consumer preferences for flowers in Germany, the present study builds on a sample that was targeted in terms of age, gender, net household income and federal state to the most recent German census.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of roselle flower extract and date palm pollen on the nutritional and sensory qualities of date palm spathe beverage (DPSB).

The nutritional composition and sensorial quality of the date palm spathe-based beverage were evaluated. The product was fortified with different concentrations (1 per cent and 5 per cent) of roselle flowers and 1 per cent date palm pollen grains.

Generally, fortification of the DPSB with roselle flowers only or the combination of roselle flowers and date palm pollen grains significantly affected the nutritional and sensory properties of the products. The total dissolved solids, turbidity and total contents of proteins; fats; carbohydrates; vitamins A, E and C; iron; nickel and copper were highest in the DPSB fortified with a mixture of 1 per cent roselle flower extract and 1 per cent pollen grains and lowest in the DPSB supplemented with 1 per cent roselle flower extract. The manganese and selenium contents were both highest and lowest in DPSB supplemented with 5 per cent and 1 per cent roselle flower extract, respectively. Antioxidant activity was highest in DPSB supplemented with the 5 per cent roselle flower extract and lowest in unfortified DPSB. Boron, molybdenum and zinc contents were highest in unfortified DPSB. All sensory attributes were highest in both the unfortified DPSB and that fortified with 1 per cent roselle flower extract.

While fortification with a combination of 1 per cent roselle flower extract and 1 per cent date palm pollen grains improved the nutritional quality of the DPSB, it negatively affected the sensory attributes of the products.

This paper aims to review the recent advances in processing and utilization of Madhuca longifolia flowers to address its potential as an industrial ingredient.

The paper analyzes the harvesting practices of flowers and recent works on the value addition.

Mahua flowers are rich source of natural sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc.) and hence are deliberately used for liquor production by tribal besides various food products, namely, Mahua ladoo, barfi, kheer, sweet puri and as grain staple. Mahuain medicine has been curing people since ages such as in rakhtpitta, diarrhoea and skin diseases and as aphrodisiac, galactagogue, carminative, antihelmenthic, antibacterial and antioxidant. Mahua candy, cake, ready to serve beverages, toffee, squash, ladoo, bars, etc. have been developed as value-added products. However, such a wonderful nature’s gift remains underused due to post harvest spoilage.

Improvement in storage facilities and processing of flowers after harvesting and drying will lead to enhanced availability of flowers for industrial purposes for food, feed and fodder. More value-added products can be prepared by the preparation of flower-juice concentrate, as well as efforts are made to produce powder from the flowers.

Post-harvest spoilage of Mahua flowers due to improper collection and handling practices, and filthy storage conditions is the major limitation of Mahua flowers to be used as a potential industrial ingredient. An improvement in collection, handling and pre-processing practices can diversify its use from liquor production to various value-added and functional food products at an industrial scale.