With a cult-like following, Wild Hibiscus flowers are now internationally recognized and continue to appear in many cocktail bars, restaurants, dinner parties, celebrations, weddings and other fun and classy gatherings.

Lee Etherington, the founder of the Wild Hibiscus Flower Company, Australia tells the story of how one night, at a more than lively dinner party, he and his partner Jocelyn dropped a Wild Hibiscus Flower into a glass of champagne. To the amazement of everyone at the party, the flower started to unfurl and looked beautiful in the glass. This sparked an idea which led to the development of bottled hibiscus flowers in syrup and an extensive product range that is now exported to more than 50 countries.

Even before Wild Hibiscus Flower Company was founded, Lee’s family had been makers and innovators of delicious specialty foods. Lee started out by cooking up unique food ideas in his mother’s home kitchen at the Wild Hibiscus Headquarter farm. He began producing a range of Australian Native Products and selling them at farmers’ markets. It was at those markets where Lee introduced the first jars of Wild hibiscus Flowers in Syrup.

Christine and her team at Facet have full attention to detail at all times. They are backed by creative design ideas that always make our brand stand out at any event. Importantly before, during and after each event, Facet is always there to quickly jump in and help to make sure the show is a success so we can just focus on being and growing our brand/company.

With Jocelyn concentrating on the business, Lee used proven farming techniques to keep the flowers perfectly candied using natural preservatives – a mix of spring water and Australian cane sugar. Lee was ready to launch the brand in North America and invited Facet to design a booth for the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York, that was “a little on the wild side”.

The design incorporated two large pink bubble machines, which certainly caught the attention of the entire show. Glass beaded walls and chandeliers created the shimmering back drops to a bar and product display. By staging “a little pizzazz with a great deal of bling”, the Wild Hibiscus launch party for invited guests and the media, was a resounding success.

Following the excitement of the New York launch and media coverage, a number of the booth elements including the bubble machines were subsequently reused and shipped to Germany for European product launches.

The Wild Hibiscus product range sparked interest among foodies, cocktail lovers and industry professionals alike. With a cult-like following, Wild Hibiscus flowers are now internationally recognized and continue to appear in many cocktail bars, restaurants, dinner parties, celebrations, weddings and other fun and classy gatherings.

“In 2020, at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, I met up Chris Muir, the North American Manager for the Wind Hibiscus Company. Chris explained that despite the bush fires that had nearly destroyed the entire crop of flowers in 2019, the company was thriving and continuing develop a range of ‘wild and interesting’ products to add to its export success.”  Christine Ellis

www.wildhibiscus.com