For Reference Only
In a joint venture with Florigene Ltd. (Victoria, Australia; President: Toshihiko Ashikari; Fully-owned Suntory Group subsidiary), Suntory Limited is proud to announce that its "blue roses" were granted approval by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of the Environment under the Cartagena Law ¹ for Type 1 Use Regulations ² (for use as cut flowers, in cultivation, storage, shipping, disposal and other acts associated with these uses) on January 31, 2008. These flowers, the world's first blue roses ³, were developed in a joint venture with Florigene Ltd.
Suntory is now focused on building a production and marketing structure for these revolutionary new blue roses and plans to launch sales in 2009.
The rose boasts a long history, with horticulturalists developing tens of thousands of varieties in an extensive palette including red, white, pink, and yellow. This palette has never included blue because rose does not have the blue pigment, and past attempts to breed this color rose have gone nowhere. With so many disappointments, the term blue rose has become synonymous with the impossible - until 2004, when Suntory and Florigene biotechnology proved successful in developing the "impossible" blue rose. In the process of pursuing the blue rose, Suntory and Florigene also created Moondust, the world's first blue carnation.
| 1990 | Suntory launches joint venture with Australian company Florigene Ltd. to focus on developing blue roses |
| 1995 | World's first blue carnations successfully developed |
| 1997 | Suntory launches sales of the first blue carnations, named Moondust, in Japan |
| 2004 | Blue roses successfully developed |
| 2008 | Blue roses granted approval under Cartagena Law |
| 2009 | Suntory launches sales of blue roses (planned) |
