The Australian broadcaster noted that Swan Hill-based Sarah Sammon began her dried rose petal business in her mother’s kitchen a dozen years ago.

From packaging shrivelled air-dried potpourri to now being the largest rose petal farm in the southern hemisphere, the secret to Simply Rose Petals' success has been online sales, freeze drying and a dash of determination.

Over that time, the pair has grown the business from 1,000 to 6,000 rose plants, ten edible flower varieties, and commercial freeze driers.

"Freeze-drying means we can send anywhere in the world, without refrigerated freight, and that really revolutionised our business," Sammon said. "When we started in 2004 we were growing cut flowers, but within six months we changed over to drying, because the cut flowers were a nightmare. We had a disease in the water, and the flowers would wilt within a few hours.

"Our new venture is 'blooming food', the world's first edible flower farm."

Sammon said the farm had 20 different edible flowers, ranging from roses to dianthus to snap dragons and cornflower. "The flower petals are mainly used for garnishing cocktails and decorating cakes, and they're a beautiful way for cafes to set themselves apart from the very next café."

Simply Rose Petals now exports to fifteen countries with a shelf-stable product that can last up to two years.

It was one of ten regional online businesses selected by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) and Google to be mentored in online marketing.

Source: abc.com.au