Last June, the French company Star Fruits celebrated its 50th birthday. Star Fruits has a portfolio that includes nearly 200 varieties of peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, cherries, pears and apples. In Europe, the company is also in charge of the programs organized around the brands Pink Lady®, Joya®, Metis® and Sanguines®. It is the activities around these brands that accelerated the company’s development.
Denis Richard, director of the varietal division, explains how the Pink Lady® program continues its strategic development in Europe and around the world, based on a massive marketing and quality investment by the whole sector, but also based on the company’s values and on the goals of meeting societal expectations.
In order to support these programs, as well as to reinforce its global presence in the varietal business, Star Fruits had to build a team, still growing, of 20 collaborators who embrace the different skills necessary to achieve those multidisciplinary missions.
A global network
Denis himself has been working for Star Fruits since March of last year. He is in charge of the development of varietal licenses which include the relations with the breeders, the protection of the plant material and the commercial development of the varieties. “We work on a global scale. We are present on all continents through various partnerships, in the framework of AIGN, a society of international publishers.”
From the beginning, Star Fruits is in close relation with plant breeders. “We are in a sector where everybody knows one another. Our objective is to create values in the sector and to share those values with the breeders in order to ensure the innovations of the future.”
Market trends
The characteristics of a new variety are chosen several years before it is marketed. It is still difficult to predict how the market will evolve. “Luckily, the breeders have been making wise choices for several years,” explains Denis. “We are seeing more and more varieties with a lot of taste and more genetic resistance to diseases, like for example, the apples that are resistant to scab. We also try to orient ourselves towards trees that do not require too much labor. The product must appeal to the consumer, but it must also be profitable for the producer. We are looking for a balance between the two.”
Storage life
Another point of focus is to obtain fruits with a longer storage life. “The countries which export a lot are interested in the varieties which have a higher conservation potential, explains Denis. “The small producers who sell on the local market do not have the same constraints and can rely on other characteristics to seduce the consumer. Each variety has its own strengths. There is also a place for the varieties with an average storage life, but which arrive early on the market. In other words, there are different products for each segment.”
Nice perspectives
“We observe a wide expression of genetics on the arboreal species, which gives us promising varieties from very different breeding programs. This brings more diversity to the market and opens some nice perspectives for the sector, namely in terms of a better resistance to pests.”
Fruit Logistica
Meet the Star Fruits team at Fruit Logistica: Hall 22 – C-17.
For more information: 
Denis Richard
Star Fruits
145 Avenue de Fontvert
84 130 Le Pontet
France
denis.richard@star-fruits.com
www.star-fruits.com