Axia Vegetable Seeds is moving fast. The company was founded in 2011 and brought their first commercial variety onto the market in 2013: Axiradius. Ten varieties have now been introduced. Their list of employees has also grown rapidly: from 5 to 155. They aren't all in the office at Naaldwijk - on the contrary. Thanks to takeovers in the Mediterranean the breeder is also gaining a foothold there.
Variety development
Yesterday, at the cultivation under lights demo, Alois van Vliet spoke more about developments within the company. In recent years there has been a lot of investment: in a demo greenhouse under lights, but also in techniques to speed up the breeding process. "There's an advantage in this," says Alois. "If we can develop 3 generations per year compared to the standard 2, we can play into the demand of the market much more quickly." Through intensive collaboration with growers worldwide, the company wants to further reduce the distance to the market." We have breeders here who go for the best choice genetically. Growers select more for the phenotypes. By involving them both in the process we can find the right combination more quickly."
This strategy has provided Axia Vegetable Seeds with ten new varieties in recent years. "Two in mass, two in specialties and two in the elite segment was our goal. Now there are ten, of which five are new." Does the company want to maintain this momentum? Michel de Winter speaks. "The question is whether a new variety will match up. We set the bar high for ourselves, we don't want to just introduce them for the sake of it. There has to be an improvement based on growing power, colour or flavour and the market has to be ready for it."
Cees Kortekaas, Alois van Vliet and Michel de Winter at the open day
Yuri Verbeek working with the Axia Vegetable Seeds tomatoes. He is an old friend of Alois, but didn't know much about the broad applications of vegetables for a long time. This has now changed.
Breeding even faster
At Axia Vegetable Seeds they expect the speed of the process to continue to increase due to the rise of new technologies. "Gene editing," clarifies Alois. This is a type of genetic manipulation with plant-own material. The eventual result could have been achieved with classic breeding but can be done more quickly through gene editing. "In the US this is allowed, in the Netherlands not yet - but we expect it to happen. This will help breeding take flight." The company has entered into a project with Yale University to keep on top of the developments. "We can invest more in flavour, ingredients and health with these kinds of techniques."
Cees Kortekaas, Alois van Vliet and Michel de Winter at the open day
Yuri Verbeek working with the Axia Vegetable Seeds tomatoes. He is an old friend of Alois, but didn't know much about the broad applications of vegetables for a long time. This has now changed.
Breeding even faster
At Axia Vegetable Seeds they expect the speed of the process to continue to increase due to the rise of new technologies. "Gene editing," clarifies Alois. This is a type of genetic manipulation with plant-own material. The eventual result could have been achieved with classic breeding but can be done more quickly through gene editing. "In the US this is allowed, in the Netherlands not yet - but we expect it to happen. This will help breeding take flight." The company has entered into a project with Yale University to keep on top of the developments. "We can invest more in flavour, ingredients and health with these kinds of techniques."
International growth
New varieties aren't the only way in which the company grows. The sales grow globally due to the existing customers, but also new markets. "In Norway the first growers are working with our varieties and we see the sales of beef tomatoes increasing in Russia." Then there are the company takeovers. Recently a Turkish seed breeder was taken over, which means on- site breeding of tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers can start for the Mediterranean market. There is also breeding in Sicily and a takeover is being rounded of in the Southern European market. The gentlemen are keeping the name of the company a secret for now. "Until it has been paid for," Alois laughs. "This will bring us up to 155 employees. It's very different from the five we started with..."
A lot of attention for Xandor, Prunaxx and Axxy at the open day. Xandor is entered the ring of coarse produce. "Thanks to better quality and a simpler product." Then there is Axxy, a slightly coarser variant in the middle segment and an addition to Axiradius, which is specifically suited for small packaging. Third is Prunaxx, a plum tomato with the characteristic roma shape.
Something striking in the storage tests bottom left: The tomatoes, grown without root stock. "In the end, in the long term, we want the varieties to be strong enough to be grown without root stock. This produces a more even crop. At the moment it's a learning opportunity."
Demo under lights
The update on the growth of the company was done at the open day of the new cultivation under lights demo in Naaldwijk. "Varieties can respond very differently under light," explains Michel. "And we see that 30% of the Dutch tomato market is grown under lights at this point. If you want to inform growers on how a variety does, you have to be able to show them."
An example of this is Maxxis. In traditional cultivation the variety wasn't very definitive. "But it does very will under lights. We can say this, but we would rather show you." To show the potential of the varieties well, cultivation is done in the demo greenhouse as commercial growers would do it: in the sharpest of cuts. "You will see a leaf here or than and we work with a high population of macrolophus - just like in practice. We prefer to put a variety though its paces, than to have it look perfect but not be an accurate reflection. This way growers know what to expect." There is no breeding done under LED as of yet. "We are doing tests among growers under LED, but the market is too small for this at the moment."