A Quick Return on Investment: Jobs and More Jobs

“Academics are typically focused on their personal careers, working to publish articles in high-impact journals,” he says. “It’s nice to have something that makes a difference and that physically has a great deal of meaning to a lot of people.”

While a return on the university’s investment — in terms of dollars — may take years, Barnett says university officials appreciate that the technology developed at NMMU is already making an impact on the local economy.

“The return for the university is that we’re producing a product that has revolutionized the floral industry, in addition to creating jobs,” she says.

Job creation is vitally important in South Africa, where unemployment hovers at nearly 25 percent according to government statistics. African Floralush employees represent the broad spectrum of cultures that exist in South Africa — a country with 11 official languages — including refugees from war-torn Zimbabwe to the north. “We have employees who have gone to great lengths to come here and send money home to family in Zimbabwe,” says Viljoen.

The company hires unskilled workers and spends three to four months training employees in computer skills and its patented three-week preservation process. Viljoen says that in addition to the 90 African Floralush employees — virtually all of whom are involved in flower processing and packaging — 25 spinoff enterprises, each with one or two employees, have been established in South Africa as a result of company’s presence. New companies have sprung up that are using Iluba roses and foliage to create amazing home décor products and arrangements that they sell,” he says.

From South African Farms to 30 Countries

African Floralush also purchases roses and foliage grown by local farmers, each of whom uses internationally recognized agricultural practices.

“The rose growers in South Africa have become very environmentally conscious, and most of them are moving away from chemicals to totally natural organic control systems that use pests to control plant disease,” says Viljoen. “They actually build bridges out of string so that insects are able to cross rows of roses. If you look carefully, you’ll see string crisscrossing the greenhouses and multitudes of bugs going across them.”

African Floralush currently processes 70,000 roses each month, distributing them throughout South Africa and to a total of 30 other countries, including 16 in Europe as well as Australia, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Sales — primarily to wholesalers and the hospitality industry — are approximately $120,000 a month.

“We’ve gotten over many hurdles and technical challenges, which were enormous in the first two years, including spending six months waiting for adequate electricity, and seasonal preservation problems that were not picked up during research,” says Barnett. “Now we are getting into the international market and we have the best product in the world.”

Long-Lasting Flowers Reduce Carbon Footprint

Satisfied customers include hotels, ocean liners and Rovos Rail, a luxury train that uses Iluba long-lasting flowers to avoid having to replenish fresh-cut floral arrangements on extended itineraries. Because Iluba roses and foliage do not require a ‘cold chain’ for distribution — fresh-cut flowers must be refrigerated throughout the transportation process — African Floralush is also able to reduce the carbon footprint associated with other floral distributors.

“You can imagine the cost savings for a hotel that replaces Iluba floral arrangements every six months instead of replenishing weekly fresh-cut flowers,” says Viljoen. The price tag on the Iluba roses — which are available in 20 colors and a variety of stem lengths — is about $15 to $20 a stem, versus $5 to $10 for the fresh flower. “It has been easy for the marketplace to accept this product,” says Barnett. “Customers have no aversion to the price.”

Still, Viljoen expects the majority of Iluba sales to come not at the expense of fresh flowers, but rather as a substitute for artificial flowers. “Our market research showed a decline in the fresh flower industry over the last two years and a steep incline in the artificial market,” says Viljoen. “We offer a natural alternative to artificial flowers.”

The success of African Floralush, which is the most advanced of the NMMU’s technology spinoffs, has helped the university appreciate a strong TTO — and commercial partner. “The university is beginning to understand that IP [intellectual property] is something that must be protected and that efforts must be made to commercialize it,” says Barnett. Adds Zeelie, “You have to have the right entrepreneur to make something like this work. Unless you have someone like J. J., it doesn’t matter if you’ve got a brilliant product. You need someone who can make it work.”

Adding Proteas, Hydrangeas and the U.S. Market

Having overcome a host of challenges — all of which Viljoen says are typical when taking a new technology to market — the African Floralush team is nothing but positive about the future. “We’re seeing the light now,” says Barnett. Next year, the company plans to take advantage of South Africa’s natural biodiversity — the country is home to some 23,000 plant species — by opening a second manufacturing plant in the Western Cape region to process proteas and hydrangeas. Viljoen says the company will also slowly expand its direct sales efforts to include North America, a region they have purposely avoided while ramping up production and service capacity.

“Our problem now isn’t marketing, it’s keeping up with demand,” he says.