The RedNoir™ tomato, the Sunup™ melon and its new strategy for Spinach are just some of the new developments with which the multinational is reaffirming its commitment to the entire agrifood value chain.
BASF participated in the first on-site edition of Fruit Attraction after more than a year of the pandemic, which took place from 5 to 7 of October at IFEMA (Madrid). The seed company joined what was possibly the most eagerly-awaited edition of the Madrid event, and it did so to once again demonstrate its commitment to the entire fruit and vegetable sector.
With its slogan ‘Vegetables People Love’, BASF VS made it clear that, even in the most difficult year that many can remember, the entire agrifood value chain, from farmers to large distributors, has continued to operate with the clear aim of feeding the world. But not only that, over this time, innovation has also continued, and in the case of BASF VS this has resulted in truly groundbreaking concepts such as its RedNoir™ tomato and its Sunup™ melon, a flavour of its new products at showcased at Fruit Attraction. They also put in the spotlight crops such as lettuce, spinach, watermelon, cucumber and artichoke for visitors.
Healthy eating
Health has become one of the main drivers of consumption; it was in the pre-pandemic era and is even more so today. In line with this trend, BASF presented its new RedNoir™ tomato. “This is a product with a series of distinguishing characteristics in both its external and internal appearance as well as in its organoleptic properties” explains Francisco Solera, Iberia Country Sales Manager, BASF VS.
On the outside, it is a tomato with black skin, round-shaped, almost spherical, and a size of between 70-90 grams. On the inside, it is an Intense-style variety, without juice. “When you cut it open, it is all flesh” states Solera. And it is precisely inside where the greatest value of RedNoir™ resides. “It has a high nutrient content and it is a natural source of antioxidant” he emphasises, for example, it has a high concentration of lycopene, anthocyanin and vitamin C. And above all, it has an umami flavour, the fifth taste.
In a blind tasting with European consumers they valued the versatility of RedNoir™ in cooking, a quality that, combined with its organoleptic properties, makes it a perfect ally for having a healthy diet.
At the moment, this is a project that BASF is developing exclusively with Unica, which also exhibited RedNoir™ at its stand at the fair, but it remains open to new companies that want to promote tomatoes and contribute to improving eating habits. More sustainable BASF always puts farmers and sales companies at the centre of it R+D with the sole aim of contributing to the improvement of their profitability in a sustainable way. To achieve this, for lettuce and spinach, it has announced its new advisory strategy to help them to decide which variety best suits their needs depending on the conditions of their farmland.
In the specific case of spinach, and faced with the damping off problems observed in recent production years, BASF has closely collaborated with producers to design effective strategies combining the most suitable growing techniques and varieties in each case. “Our aim is to offer them the most appropriate variety always bearing in mind their needs and the determining factors of the crop,” explains Solera.
BASF has an extensive portfolio of spinach varieties with which it covers the entire cycle offering high yields with a premium product and a complete resistance to all the strains of mildew that have been discovered so far (1-19), thus reducing the use of treatments and making production more sustainable.
For the supermarket, availability and convenience
Both are sine qua non conditions for conquering supermarket shelves, and more so at present, when consumers demand any product 365 days a year and also seek sizes that are appropriate for their family unit. Product availability throughout the entire year is what BASF has achieved with Sunup™, its most ground-breaking melon. It is a similar type to cantaloupe, from which it has inherited its netting and sutures, but not the colour of its rind. The Sunup™ range shows when the fruit is ripe, going from a pale yellow to an attractive golden colour. Using this concept, BASF has varieties that can be grown in Senegal, Morocco, Brazil and Honduras, thus guaranteeing all-year-round supply.
At the fair, BASF strengthened the concept that it introduced to the market, the double aptitude varieties, that is to say, that are adapted to being sold fresh and also with minimal processing, in quarters and halves. Thus, the multinational anticipated the demands of current family units, which have increasingly fewer members, without its watermelons losing any of their taste and quality. Bazman F1 and Harmonium F1 are its leading products in this segment.
With all of these new proposals, BASF has ratified its commitment to the fruit and vegetable sector without losing sight of its mission in society, which is none other than feeding the world in a healthy, fun and sustainable way. We make healthy eating enjoyable and sustainable.
For more information:
BASF
www.basf.com