In the last week of September, various seed breeding companies usually open their well-kept testing fields to visitors. Growers and chain partners visit these fields.
Hazera took a different approach this year. They reconstructed a large supermarket. This was done at their breeding facility in Warmenhuizen, the Netherlands. Here, they presented more than 130 varieties of fruit and vegetables. Not as seeds, but as the end product you would find in stores or at a greengrocer.
Frans van der Ploeg, on the right, talking to a visitor. He explained a broccoli's many uses, developed by Landwaart Culinair.
“We want to challenge growers to look a little further, and think about things like 'where does my product fit in?" explains Hazera's Frans van der Ploeg. “In the kitchen of the future, things will revolve even more around convenience products. People might still cook themselves over weekends."
"But during the week, more and more consumers are making quick, easy meals. Mostly with pre-cut vegetables or ready-to-eat salads and dishes. This type of cooking has been a trend for a while already in America." Hazera's fruit and vegetable specialists, Landwaart Culinair, invited visitors to put different concepts together. This was so they could see the possibilities.
A Landwaart Culinair convenience product shows the processor's added value.
These open days were all about the experience. Hazera used their Experience Days to offer a platform to inspire growers, processors, and retailers. The company also actively engaged visitors. Hazera wanted to gain further insight into their various wants and needs. The company also wanted to share meaningful, interesting ideas with visitors.
"In this way, we can develop valuable, successful partnerships and varieties together," says Frans. “We want to trigger our chain partners. Why is brand experience possible with something like water, but not fruit and vegetables?"
Visitors were invited to do taste tests.
When it comes to successfully introducing new products, cooperation in the chain is essential. These new products include varieties like purple pointed cabbage, Sensera tomatoes, and Friseline chicory. "We can provide the right genetics. The grower cultivates a product that is of consistently high quality. The chain partners ensure quick processing and distribution and retailers then sell the product."
"So, everyone in the chain has a unique function. That, while there is little opportunity to tell the story of what lead up to a product costing what it does, once it hits the shelves. New introductions are, therefore, complicated and drawn-out. You need the correct partners. They must continue to like working together, too," Frans concludes.
Piet Steenks presents different ideas for radishes.
TB&S sees opportunities for purple pointed cabbage. This product could replace red cabbage. It is tastier and presents better when it is cut up.
Hazera's breeding plant in Warmenhuizen was converted into a supermarket.
For more information
Hazera Seeds