The Wild Hibiscus Flower Company is a small family owned & operated firm run by a passionate team in Sydney, Australia. Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup are the original creation of Lee Etherington who invented the product 11 years ago in 1997.
Wild Hibiscus Flowers are unique in all the world and are now sold in 30 countries across the globe through retailers as prestigious as Harvey Nichols in London, Citarella in New York & Galerie Lafayette in Paris.
The Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup was "discovered" by happy accident at a lively Australian dinner party in 1998, when Lee Etherington and a group of (tipsy) friends playfully dunked a crimson wildflower into a champagne flute.
The flower slid gracefully to the bottom of the glass, and the friends watched, agog, as champagne bubbles streamed across it, and the petals slowly unfurled. Lee, a 21-year-old tour guide who owned a small food business and had only ever used the edible Hibiscus as a dessert garnish, took a sip of his exotic creation.
It was a Eureka moment.
Nine years after that fateful dinner party, we're proud to say that our Wild Hibiscus Flower creation is a hot topic of conversation - and an icebreaker - at dinner parties around the world.
Our creation is found in upscale bars and restaurants and prestigious retail stores in 16 countries worldwide, from the posh Dorchester Hotel in London to gourmet grocer Citarella in New York.
We're delighted to read regular media reports of encounters between celebrities - and regularly feature in joint promotions at launch parties and premiers with Moet & Chandon.
Following the dinner party epiphany, Lee began developing the Hibiscus product, and subjected it to the most reliable market research he knew - the tourists from Europe, the United States, Asia and elsewhere, who he led on daily treks through the scenic Blue Mountains, northwest of Sydney.
The international visitors already displayed an appetite for native Australian foods. So popular where the jams, preserves and sauces that Lee cooked in his mother's kitchen from indigenous fruit, nuts, herbs and spices, that tourists had begun returning - not for another tour - but to buy native foods with fascinating flavors, and take home a unique taste of Australia to friends and families. Lee had recently begun sending food parcels overseas, and selling to local retailers, and had established Kurrajong Australian Native Foods, which trades today as www.bushtuckershop.com
The Wild Hibiscus Flower was a standout hit with clients, so Lee spent the next few years developing the product. In 2005, as the volume of exports exceeded domestic sales, Kurrajong Australian Native Foods became the Wild Hibiscus Flower Company.
As our product has grown in popularity, The Wild Hibiscus Flower Company has remained a family-owned and operated business. We believe that to earn "gourmet" status, a product must be made with individual care and attention to the highest standards. As the Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup blossomed, we made a conscious decision not to mechanize or outsource the production - a growing trend in the high-end food market - but to continue creating the product by hand, the best way we know how.
Lee researched how to grow the Wild Hibiscus, who could grow it, where to grow it, how to harvest it, how to manage it after harvest so the hibiscus remained in peak condition, and, most importantly, how to consistently process the fresh flowers into the Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup. To that end, Lee devised a natural preservative - a mix of spring water and Australian cane sugar - that keeps the flowers fresh for up to 24 months.
Our staff is trained to treat each Hibiscus flower with care. The flower they're holding is destined for a discerning consumer who appreciates and expects a premium product, whether it's a bride on her wedding day, a celebrity, a mother celebrating a special occasion or a group of women enjoying a big night out.
Under our supervision, contracted growers in tropical northern Australia produce and hand pick the crops of flowers, 25 percent of which are certified organic. The fresh flowers are individually picked, deseeded, cleaned and packed into jars entirely by hand at our factory in the tiny village of Kurrajong, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. Hibiscus flowers grow in several different shapes, so we place them in predetermined positions in the jar according to shape, to ensure that none are squashed.
With such a labor-intensive process, it's difficult to produce vast volumes of our product at speed, but the output of our careful but efficient production process meets the export demands of our international market.
Our company is directly involved in the exportation and distribution of the product, and fully supports the retail market. We own subsidiary companies in The Netherlands and the United States, which import and warehouse our product for local markets.
In 2007, at least 35 people are employed directly or indirectly by our operations. We export to 30 countries, including the UK, Germany, the USA, Canada, Belgium, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, France and The Philippines.
We operate as an ethical business, working towards HACCP accreditation for food safety, and we do our best to work in a sustainable way. This year we planted around 90,000 Hibiscus bushes to support our operations. After flowering, the Hibiscus plants are plowed back into the ground, helping to improve and regenerate the soil.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our capabilities or operations, and we look forward to receiving feedback and enquiries from retailers, distributors, trading partners, and consumers, wherever you may be.
