Its point reflects flavour. Its remarkable shape means oxheart cabbage has conquered a permanent spot in the vegetable department at the expense of white cabbage over the years. “Don’t we all want what’s tastiest and easiest, in the end?” says Coen Swager of TB&S. For some time they’ve been marketing a competitor of red cabbage: Violetti, the purple sister of oxheart cabbage, which also has that characteristic ‘tasty’ point. TB&S hopes this newcomer will soon become a permanent value in supermarkets.
Purple oxheart cabbage has been on the market for some time. TB&S has seen the popularity of purple oxheart cabbage increasing in Scandinavia and Germany, although the Dutch are a bit more cautious. However, TB&S is planning to make Violetti a success. They’ve invested in a concept. There’s now a brand name – Violetti – a logo, visual material and on- and offline information regarding the production and recipes to make purple oxheart cabbage better known. Eventually, its flavour should convince consumers and lead to repeat purchases. Coen: “The first challenge is to remove a bit of unfamiliarity. When customers get to know it, we hope they’ll put purple oxheart cabbage on their grocery list every week.” Coen expects Violetti also has market potential as a processed product. Possibly, Violetti will be added to the ready-to-cook assortment. “When you cut Violetti, it won’t ‘bleed’ like red cabbage, which exudes a red liquid after it’s been cut. Red cabbage isn’t mixed for that reason. Right now, cutting plants are doing trials with Violetti, which hasn’t got this problem of ‘bleeding’ either.”
TB&S has specialised in oxheart cabbage. “We’ve always grown white and red cabbage, which are related to oxheart cabbage. We’re still doing that, although that production has declined over the years. That process started 35 years ago, in cooperation with a national retailer. Oxheart cabbage grew each year until it also became more familiar abroad. Scandinavia and Germany are now important sales markets. Compared to white cabbage, oxheart cabbage isn’t a major product, but we’re seeing that it’s used a lot globally. Oxheart cabbage is in constant demand. That’s why we’re offering it year-round,” Coen says.
Over the years, TB&S managed to ‘tame’ oxheart cabbage quite well, but there will naturally always be challenges. “An oxheart cabbage is recognised by it’s lovely conical shape, and that’s therefore a quality characteristic. We’re striving for constant flavour and shape, and are now so good at that we could almost say each product ending up on the shelves has the same shape. Extreme growth circumstances like last summer are challenging. Oxheart cabbage grows quickly, and while white cabbage can recover from stressful circumstances, that’s much more difficult for oxheart cabbage. Another important characteristic is its shelf life. Nowadays, oxheart cabbages are wrapped in shrink film 95 per cent of the time, so it stays beautiful and has a long shelf life, particularly when it’s kept in cold store,” Coen continues.
TB&S is in control of the entire supply chain. “Because of this, we’re a reliable partner. We have good storing varieties and packing methods, and we can offer a year-round product of constant quality. We haven’t worked with Violetti as long, but we also control that entire process, and we can offer it year-round as well.” Oxheart cabbage can be stored in cooling cells, and combined with the production in Southern Europe, plenty of oxheart cabbage is available year-round. The oxheart cabbage area covers 200 hectares in the Netherlands and 300 hectares in Portugal, and the average yield is 40-45 tonnes and 35-40 tonnes per hectare, respectively. The Netherlands has 15 hectares for purple and organic oxheart cabbage, and Portugal has 40 hectares. The majority of the harvest is processed in the Netherlands, but a small part is processed in Portugal and Italy. Coen: “We custom-pack and we think with our buyers. We’re capable of supplying completely to the customers’ wishes. Together, we decide how many products can go in a package, how this package looks, which packing material will be used, whether we’ll use film to give the product an even longer shelf life, and which boxes customers will choose. Before the product is packed, it’s always checked for quality.”
TB&S has noticed that buyers put the bar higher and higher, regarding quality, but also regarding sustainable entrepreneurship more and more nowadays. “We’re a sustainable family company, and our biggest passion is growing the most beautiful and best vegetables. That’s why we follow all of the relevant developments, in combination with our common sense. For example, last year we invested in solar panels, and we can now operate CO2-neutrally in 2019. We’re Planet Proof certified as well. A sustainable management means thinking about the future as well. Right now, the third generation is at the helm of our family company, but generation four and five are already passionately waiting to get started. For the future, we’re still seeing a lot of opportunities for growing oxheart cabbages, but also for regular cabbage. We’re seeing other growers who quit or who don’t have successors, and that also offers us more opportunities.”
More information:
TB&S
Coen Swager
[email protected]
