Consumption trends and the production process for sliced fresh melons and watermelons and their future were among the topics discussed at the Melon and Watermelon Global Event, organised by Rijk Zwaan and held in Murcia.
Melon consumption in northern Europe remains stable, with about 2-4 kilos per capita and concentrated in the summer months, although consumption in winter is now also on the rise.
While in Spain or Portugal consumption is more rooted in tradition, in northern Europe it is still associated with special occasions, as it is considered a different and exclusive product.
However, consumers can come across some reasonable obstacles when deciding to purchase melons. For example, the fact that it takes some work to prepare, as it needs to be peeled and sliced, while other fruits can simply be eaten directly after being washed. Furthermore, small family units avoid their purchase because of the size of the pieces, taking into account that they will end up throwing away a huge part. Also, how do we know that the melon we're buying is of good quality?
Opportunities for melons and watermelons in snacks segment
Within the Convenience segment we can find different lines of ready-to-eat snacks, intended to be consumed between meals.
The evolution of tomatoes in the Convenience segment is an example of changing consumer trends. Increasingly fewer tomatoes on the vine are purchased, as there is a growing preference for loose tomatoes in snack format. In the United States, for example, loose cherry tomatoes are the most consumed.
Berries are the most popular fruits in the convenience segment, with consumption registering the fastest growth compared to other products. But what's the place for melons and watermelons?
Currently, between 15 and 25% of melons are intended for processing in northern and central Europe. With the growing popularity of the snack segment, the need arose to create a space devoted to fresh snacks, as awareness about health and welfare issues is also on the rise. For now, this is more the case in supermarkets, although service stations, petrol stations and vending machines also offer great potential as sales outlets.
Fresh products register growing sales figures and discounters are gradually offering a wider range of processed, ready-to-eat products, whose prices are falling in part as a result of the optimisation and increased efficiency of the slicing and packaging processes.
This is a business opportunity for the entire sector, both for trading companies and processors as well as for the producers themselves. Therefore, Rijk Zwaan representatives stressed that marketers need producers to supply them with fruit that is suitable for this segment in order to continue expanding, with the challenges that this entails, like finding good watermelons in winter. For this reason, they predict that, in the future, specific varieties will be developed for this segment.
In recent years, steps have been made to determine which types of melon and watermelon are more suitable for this segment, while over the past five years quite a bit of progress has been made in understanding the demands of the processing industry. Progress has also been made in the analysis of the fruit's juice content, as well as the most suitable types of flesh, its structure and colour (orange, white, red, green). Tests have also been carried out in panels to determine the flavours.
It has been found, for example, that orange pulp is a solution for the winter season. White-fleshed varieties work well throughout the year, but they don't offer anything special in terms of flavour. Meanwhile, research continues and remains to be done in red and green-fleshed varieties.
Today we already have access to comprehensive studies and specific varieties for the processing sector in all programmes. Work is currently under way on protocols to analyse the genetic material within the context of how the market operates.
And what is the ideal melon for processing?
The industry demands very round or oval melons with homogeneous flesh and a bright colour. In general, the cavity for the seeds has to be small, so it must have plenty of flesh and a fine and clean skin, regardless of the netting they may have.
In the future, changes are expected in the structure of the melon's flesh, as well as new colours and features.