Marketing GMO Carnations in Floral Design Shops: Student-designed Policy Formulation

Genetically-modified organism (GMO) crops provide new trait(s) with market value that may benefit breeder, producer, distributor, and retailer firms as well as consumers for potted, or garden flower and foliage crops in the horticultural distribution chain. Only a limited array of GMO cut flower cultivars exist in the floral markets worldwide, namely carnations, Dianthus caryophyllus (9 cultivars, Florigene Moonseries: ‘Moonshadow™’, ‘Moonvista™’, ‘Moonlite™’, ‘Moonshade™’, ‘Moonaqua™’, ‘Moonique™’, ‘Moonpearl™’, ‘Moonvelvet™’, ‘Moonberry™’) and roses, Rosa xhybrida (1 cultivar, SUNTORY blue rose ‘Applause’). Unlike in the European Union, labeling of GMO flower products in the U.S. is not required. As a result, many distributors, brokers, wholesalers, floral designers, and most consumers are not aware that GMO flowers exist. To test the acceptance of GMO cut flowers with potential new floral designers, n = 121 students enrolled in Floral Design Class (Hort 1013) during five years (2005–2007, 2009, 2011), designed with commercially available standard and mini ‘Moonseries’ cultivars in the laboratory. Each student created a Hogarth or S-curve design with both types of carnations and assembled a price sheet for their designs. Students examined the differences between GMO lavender/purple carnations and those created with classic methods of spraying, dipping, or infusion. Market cost factors were also presented as considerations for floral designers and their customer base. Each year, students were given an identical question on a midsemester examination to determine their position on GMO cut flowers, including development of a floral shop policy to inform their customers. In 2009, students were also assigned to write a marketing paragraph about their GMO floral design. Student exam question responses ranged from not carrying the GMO products, offering GMO/non-GMO carnation options to the consumer or only selling GMOs. In several instances, consumers were not to be informed of the GMO nature unless they queried about the higher price point. Similarly, marketing paragraphs did not uniformly highlight the GMO nature of the flowers. Implications of these findings for the floral market will be highlighted.