Taste is important in the strawberry sector, but only offers added value if a flavoursome product is also recognizable and reproducible, Marcel Dings made clear this week at the Aardbeienketen 2020 meeting. "If a tasty strawberry isn't recognizable, or is less tasty the next time, ultimately the consumer won't buy again."
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Marcel Dings discussed the importance of taste during the Aardbeienketen 2020 meeting, held this week in the IDC Smaak at Wageningen UR in Bleiswijk. During the meeting, the future of the strawberry chain took centre stage. To be prepared for that, Dutch growers should still make a step in entrepreneurship according to Dings. "We are top-notch in cultivation, but have had little attention for the role in the chain. That's fine in a balanced market, but now there is a structural surplus in a number of cultivations. With strawberries that still appear to be going well, and we have to learn from other fruit vegetable sectors." That's why the role of the grower in the chain has to change from producer to chain partner. "Think from strength, not from power," Dings clarified. "What is the customer's demand, and can you fulfil it? By working together, you realize something someone else can't. That makes your position unique."
Ahold
What does the retailer expect from the earlier links in the chain? Onno Franse of Ahold went into that. He notices that the chain is now so fragmented, that the connection of the consumer with the origin of the food has disappeared. "And that causes unrest. The story has to remain valid." That's why Franse not only looks at the development of the product itself, with year-round availability, better taste and diversity in varieties playing a part, but looks further along the chain as well. For instance, he sees the importance in communication between the links in the chain, so that peak moments can be responded to better. The consumer can also be stimulated by telling more about the substances strawberries contain, for instance. Franse warned the sector though: watch out for negative news about residues or pathogens – something like that sets the sector's reputation back years – and prepare for the future, in which personalized food and the LCA (life cycle analysis) could play an important role.
More and more varieties
The diversification in the strawberry sector also came to the fore in the story Bert Meulenbroek of Fresh Forward told. As a strawberry breeder, he fulfils the first role in the chain. The breeding company previously brought Elsanta and Sonata to the market, but is now seeing how the market where one strawberry variety prevails, is slowly disappearing. "There are so many different cultivations and demands, that we can now develop varieties that respond to that better." In general though, it can be said that taste is becoming increasingly important. "Five years ago, the taste experience was important, until the kilos were discussed. That has changed." Resistance for a residue-free cultivation and labour friendliness also play a more important role.