This summer WA Farm Direct and N&A Group are poised to launch a new addition to the Australian Summerfruit category. Ondine™ is a series of flat peach and nectarine varieties that is celebrated for its perfectly balanced “semi-sweet” flavour and vibrantly coloured skin, as well as a flat shape.
Ondine™ was developed in France by the Maillard family of ASF Edition. Arsene and Laurence Maillard have dedicated the last 25 years to developing new fruit varieties that satisfy rigorous selection criteria and have fostered a reputation for their products as having only the most desirable eating characteristics, as well as favourable production and marketing characteristics, thanks to these selection criteria.
Ondine™ is predicted to breathe new life in to the Summerfruit category in Australia thanks to its unique shape and exceptional flavour by drawing new customers to the category and increasing purchase frequency and volume. Ondine™ is perfectly positioned to capture new customers from the young families and gourmet snacking markets; its size profile and unique flat shape makes it an ideal snack as it is easier to hold than traditional round peaches or nectarines and won’t get squashed when packed in a lunchbox. It’s exceptionally sweet flavour and unusual appearance will see Ondine™ becoming an in-demand ingredient in canapés and grazing platters.
Being a licensed variety, Ondine™ will benefit from a carefully monitored and vetted production base as well as expertly selected marketing channels, guaranteeing retailers and consumers a consistently high-quality product. Ondine™ production in Australia is currently centred around two main growing regions – Cobram in Victoria and Perth Hills in Western Australia, both regions proven to be ideal to produce high quality Stonefruit.
In the European market where Ondine™ has been commercially successful for several seasons, production has been rapidly scaled to meet the growing market demand, with around 800,000t of flat peach and 1,500,000t of flat nectarine produced throughout the 2021 season.
Ondine™ flat peaches and flat nectarines were also awarded the 2022 Flavour of the Year in the Saveur De L’annee, a European consumer panel. The Ondine project currently has around 2,500 hectares of flat peach and flat nectarine plantations worldwide. The countries where the Ondine plantations are located are Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Chile, South Africa and Australia.
WA Farm Direct are the master licensee for Ondine™ in Australia and are also the exclusive marketer/distributor for Ondine™ in the Western States whilst N&A Group are the exclusive marketer of Ondine™ in the Eastern states. The partnership estimates a total crop of roughly 15,000kg of Flat peach and 11,000kg of flat nectarine (Class 1 fruit) will be available for the 2021/22 launch from the two production bases Ondine™ will launch in Australia this summer with the series of both Flat Peaches and Flat Nectarines available in limited quantities from mid-December through to March at selected retailers.
For more information:
Justin Shield
WA Farm Direct Pty Ltd
Mobile: +61 (0) 448 367 421
Email: [email protected]
