Increasing sustainability AND sales in the flower industry with OptiBoost

Sustainability is not a cost for the flower industry – actually, it’s quite the opposite – if you’re using OptiBoost to treat cut flowers that is

With the OptiBoost technology sales increase and waste is reduced – all at once. During a 10 week trial throughout 200 supermarkets in Sweden, great results were achieved with OptiBoost treated roses.

What is OptiBoost?

If you haven’t heard about OptiBoost before, this is a quick introduction:

OptiBoost uses vacuum technology to replace parts of the air in the leaves with a special nutrition solution. Impregnating the leaves, and they, therefore, stay much longer on the vase. 

This results in multiple benefits both in terms of sustainability and the impact on our planet – also for the entire flower industry, and in the end, for the consumer. 

Let’s have a look at the results at the 200 Swedish supermarket stores.

36% increase in sales and significantly reduced waste

This summer (2021), OptiCept initiated a commercial evaluation alongside Dagab and the wholesaler APH. Since mid-July Dagab has been selling OptiBoost treated roses in 100 stores across Sweden.

The evaluation has been formed as blind tests, meaning that neither the store nor the consumer knows which stores are selling OptiBoost-roses and which stores are selling untreated. The purpose was to genuinely understand the impact in terms of sales and wastage.

The stores that have sold OptiBoost-roses increased their sales by 36% compared to the same period in the previous year. In the comparable stores, the sales have been unchanged.

We also see a significant reduction in waste as a result of more durable roses.

These results further confirm that the technology works well and leads to interesting benefits for supermarkets. The consumers didn’t know that the vase life would be better as well, but visually – they do notice that the flowers look better in the shops, as the colors are more intense and the flowers open more evenly.

 

“The stores that have sold OptiBoost-roses increased their sales by 36% compared to the same period in the previous year. In the comparable stores, the sales have been unchanged.”
 

Making the floral industry more sustainable with OptiBoost

A more attractive product not only increases sales and is a good business case, but also affects the entire chain…

The OptiBoost technology has the ability to impact the sustainability of the entire flower industry.

As the OptiBoost treatment increases the life expectancy of cut flowers, it also increases their durability – this affects the means of transportation needed. Switching from airplanes to boats can be an option in some cases, going from refrigerated trucks to non-refrigerated, which significantly reduces emissions.

Each year, some 30-50 billion(!) cut flowers are produced in the world. Approximately 10-20% of this I waste!

that’s quite a mass of wasted flowers to manage. A huge problem and a real environmental hazard.

Reducing waste in the flower industry and of cut flowers is of great importance.

The OpitBoost treatment boosts the flowers with energy (only using natural ingredients) meaning the survival rate can be increased significantly. Less waste is produced as more flowers can be sold instead of just thrown away.

 
The OptiBoost system FREJA - as placed at wholesaler APH in Malmö, Sweden.

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