"UK: "A competitive market for edible flowers"

Edible flowers are trendy and are therefore becoming increasingly popular to cultivate. According to British edible flower grower Peter Taylor of Westlands, the market has become more competitive over the last few years. "The demand for these flowers is good as they are more readily available to the consumers," he says.

Peter Taylor.

Violas most popular
According to Taylor, violas are the most popular edible flowers at the moment. However, increasingly more varieties are being asked for by customers, and supplied by Westlands, that have increased and different flavor profiles as well as great visual appeal. "For this reason, it is important to have a broad assortment and to keep on investing in expanding this assortment," says Taylor. At the moment Westlands has a range of 12 edible flowers in their assortment, next to other fresh produce products like micro leaves, growing cresses, sea vegetables, plants previously foraged, oriental leaves, speciality tomatoes, oyster leaves and seakale.

Flowers with flavor
Not only the appearance, but also the taste is highly important for edible flowers. This is why Westlands work closely with professional chefs to create the ideal flavor of the flower and to follow the latest trends. "It enables us to keep ahead in our market," says Taylor. The quality of their products are often confirmed by chefs in British cooking shows. "Often our products are presented in episodes of Great British Menu."

Cultivation processes
The edible flowers of Westlands are cultivated in greenhouses in Evesham, the UK. "Every flower has its own cultivation process and as we are working with edibles, the techniques used to cultivate these flowers are different than for growing non-edible flowers. Besides, that, the company is equipped with high end technologies. "The entire greenhouse climate and growing system is computer controlled."

For more information
Westlands WOW
Peter Taylor
Email: PeterTaylor@westlandswow.co.uk
www.westlandswow.co.uk