Petals Agritech forges tie ups with Ferns and Petals  

Abrar Lone
Srinagar April 27: Kashmir floriculture industry is set for a big leap as valley florists have started to forge tie ups with Indian companies for increasing their business operations.
Ferns’N’ Petals (FNP) a chain of floral boutiques across India Monday launched its franchisee outlet, Petals Agritech at Taj Plaza Jawahar Nagar to cater to flower requirements of valley customers.  The outlet was inaugurated by Principal Secretary Agriculture Production, J&K Government, Sonali Kumar who said that initiatives such as these not only depicted the changing tastes of people but also presented new options to entrepreneurs. 

“This will have a good impact on budding entrepreneurs and develop a tempo among the business community to compete with their counterparts outside the valley,” said Sonali adding that this will also facilitate transfer of technical knowhow among the flower dealers.
She said that the State government is desirous of facilitating such initiatives for the betterment of flower growers. “Firms from outside have already been roped in for assisting the local farms who don’t have enough awareness about the cultivation of flowers even though the Valley has been blessed with an  ideal climate”, she said.
The owner of the franchisee store, Nusrat Jahan Ara said that FNP is  a Delhi based company and the only branded chain of floral boutiques which offers a vast variety of fresh cut flowers, artificial & dry flower arrangements, besides scented candles, candle stands, imported glass vases, miniature gift items and potpourris.
Nusrat said that the tie up will enhance the skills to cater to the growing needs of customers. Ferns N Petals has kept itself abreast with a new technology and gives a facility to its client to order flowers and gifts anytime anywhere by just logging on to www.fnp.in or by just sending a message by typing fnp at 54646. The delivery can be done on the same day anywhere in India or abroad.
According to the Vice-President of Ferns ‘N’ Petals, Pawan Gadia the firm has 92 outlets, in other states and there are 65 strategic alliances and 156 vendor partners outside India.  
“Ferns ‘N’ Petals (FNP) is a one-stop-shop for all flower requirements, be it for daily or occasional gifts, for floral decoration in weddings, corporate events or individual parties. Its flower boutiques are aesthetically designed air – conditioned outlets reflecting style and high taste to cater to elite customers,” said Pawan.  
He added that FNP has been associated with Reliance Industries, Nokia, DHL, Hero Honda, Usha, Air India, Zee, The Hindustan Times, Lakme, Standard Chartered Bank, India Today, The Times of India, NDTV, ITC, HSBC and Nestle.
Raja Ajaz Ali, IGP SSG who was also present at the inaugural function said that such initiatives are the need of the hour as valley has a great market potential for such business.
He revealed that the modern technological advancements make it possible to grow flowers in deserts like Ethopia, and even though we have ideal climate for flower production we have not taken a big leap.
Among the other guests on the inaugural occasion were PSC Chairman Muhammad Shafi Pandit, Director Floriculture, Dr. G S Naqash, and President of FCIK, Shakeel Qalandar.