How this Karnataka engineer earns Rs7 lakh a month from chrysanthemum flowers

After completing BE (Electronics) from Vemana Institute of Technology, Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Lohith Reddy could have taken up a cushy corporate job in Bengaluru. His family lived in Kommasandra in Bengaluru Urban district of Karnataka and a job in India’s Silicon Valley would have been a logical choice for the young engineer. 

But Lohith loved spending time amid flowers and greenery and did not like being confined to a building. “It is soul-satisfying to be amid flowers. They are therapeutic,” he says. 

“I come from a farming family. After completing my engineering in 2016, I began helping my cousin who owned a flower farm. I would take care of cultivation during the day and take the flowers to the Bengaluru market for sale at night,” he adds. 

“Understanding the market is crucial before starting any business. You have to know who will buy and where you will sell your products,” Lohith emphasizes.

Starting solo with Gerbera

By 2018, Lohith had gained enough knowledge about floriculture (commercial flower cultivation) and the sale of flowers and decided to start independently.  His family owned four acres of land in Kommasandra where they grew ragi, lentils and other crops. 

“I asked my father to let me put up a polyhouse over half an acre for growing flowers. Initially, my family was reluctant about the prospects of floriculture. But they tinally agreed,” says Lohith.

He also built a pond for water and set up other infrastructure. “I started with gerbera farming and got 12,000 plants from a nursery in Pune. The total investment, including the plants, irrigation, polyhouse and other infrastructure was Rs 20 lakh.”

Lohith planted gerbera in March 2018 and they began flowering in May. “They start flowering after three months and continue to give flowers for five years,” the farm entrepreneur says.

Each gerbera plant gives an average of four flowers per day.

“I sold around 40,000 to 50,000 gerberas monthly in the Bengaluru market, earning Rs 1.5 lakh monthly.  I earned Rs 18 lakh in one year, almost recovering my initial investment,” Lohith adds.

He was hopeful of scripting a success story given the rising demand for flowers in India.  The Indian floriculture market size was Rs 26,210 crore in 2023 and is expected to reach Rs 71,460 crore by 2032, according to market research firm IMARC Group.

Also Read: How this Punjab farmer became a flower millionaire

How chrysanthemums are grown

The success inspired him to expand the cultivation by one acre to a total of 1.5 acres. “After expansion, I bought chrysanthemum plants from a local nursery. The plant costs only Rs 2 each and you can sell each flower (one plant yields only one flower stick) for Rs15,” he says.

Unlike gerbera, where costs of cultivation are high due to soil as the medium and other maintenance costs, chrysanthemum requires less investment. Chrysanthemum growing media consists of soil, compost and coco peat and can be reused.

Chrysanthemums can be cultivated throughout the year, ensuring a consistent income. “After deducting the cost of plants and other expenses,  the farmer can still make a profit of Rs8 per plant.  The profit margin is high,” he says.

Chrysanthemums start flowering in one month and must be replanted every three months. They require regular fertigation and irrigation for good growth. “Since they come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours, one can cater to different customer preferences,” Lohith adds.

He planted 1.5 lakh plants of chrysanthemums in one acre and earned Rs 22.5 lakh from them, making a neat profit of around Rs12 lakh. 

He currently grows various varieties of chrysanthemums like white santini, pink santini yellow santini, red calimero, golden yellow chrysanthemums and in other colours.

Also Read: How this homemaker set up a profitable orchid nursery business; and earns Rs4 lakh monthly

Expansion and revenues

“After one year of successful chrysanthemum farming, I expanded by another one acre to a total of 2.5 acres. Till COVID struck, everything was well. We were affected during the lockdown and that’s when I started looking beyond the local flower market for sale.”

Lohith joined hands with another floriculturist and started supplying flowers to all parts of India by August 2022 as things started getting better post-Covid. “I had a passion for updating my work daily on social media. That helped me as people started contacting me for flowers. We began supplying and expanded through word of mouth,” says Lohith.

“Now, we supply chrysanthemums across India through orders taken online. Our biggest markets include Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Guwahati.”

He also procures flowers from other farmers who find it difficult to sell the produce on their own, helping them in marketing. “While I grow only chrysanthemums, I supply gerbera, roses and a variety of other flowers,” Lohith adds.

Since chrysanthemums complete their life cycle in three months, he has divided the plot into eight parts to ensure consistent income. “We plant every ten days and the production continues daily. We harvest 1500 bunches weekly, earning around Rs7 lakh per month,” he says.

After harvesting, the flowers are stored in a cold chain that increases their shelf life. “We have a cold chain where flowers are hydrated for one day and then supplied to buyers across India,” Lohith says.

(Rashmi Pratap is a Mumbai-based journalist specialising in business, financial, and socio-economic reporting)

Also Read: Five farmers earning bumper profits from flower farming

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