"The arrival of the Savana strawberry is revolutionising the early varieties market"

After more than 9 years crossing parents and achieving developments in test fields, the Plared 0955 variety is already on its way to the market under the Savana brand. It is being sold to be planted in Huelva in Spain and in other countries of the Mediterranean basin, such as Morocco, Greece and Italy.

Emilio Fuertes, Product Manager at Planasa.

"The Savana belongs to the category of early and very productive varieties and stands out for its tolerance to soil diseases, which is very interesting at the agronomic level, given that it entails a lower use of pesticide treatments," explains Emilio Fuertes, Product Manager for Strawberries at Planasa. "We have managed to obtain a fairly good taste and quality in the early category."

A few years ago, the Sahara and Safari, predecessors of the Savana, had already found their place in the strawberry market. "The Safari has managed to develop very well in Mexico thanks to this country's cultivation conditions, and it has already filled a significant gap in the market as a high quality early variety," says Emilio Fuertes.

However, the arrival of the Savana is revolutionising the market; so much so, that it is already taking the spotlight away from its predecessors. "This is something that happens often when marketing different varieties, since the consumers, the distribution chains and the producers are the ones who have the last word."

According to Emilio, "Each producer has different marketing needs, depending on the market they are targeting, and our objective is to offer varietal solutions for all of them. Huelva, for example, seeks to extend its campaign with earlier varieties while seeking not to overlap with the productions of central and northern Europe, as the latter are increasingly extending their production calendars, which results in tougher competition. Although it is true that, in recent years, the predominant trend has been to seek precocity, we must not forget that the consumer is becoming increasingly demanding in terms of taste and quality."

The goal is always to find the perfect balance between quality, shelf life, flavour and profitability, and that is not easy. "At Planasa, we are ambitious and we can say that today we probably have our most complete strawberry variety program ever, able to satisfy any need and providing a unique taste experience with each variety. We collaborate with producers and retailers around the world, which gives us a fairly global vision. We are very excited about the new plant materials that are coming; the results so far have been amazing."

For more information:
Emilio Fuertes
Planasa
T. +34 629 767 512
efuertes@planasa.com
planasa.com