Rijk Zwaan’s vegetable breeding programmes revolve around innovation. With the company’s win of the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award for Knox™ in 2017 still fresh in everyone’s mind, Rijk Zwaan will once again be focusing on innovation at this year’s Fruit Logistica – the world’s leading international fresh produce trade show, which is being held from 7 to 9 February 2018 in Berlin.
Retail Center now open in Berlin
Rijk Zwaan’s innovations extend all the way into grocery stores, and the company’s Retail Center, located in the heart of Berlin, provides plenty of evidence of that fact. Fruit Logistica visitors interested in seeing the company’s innovation and experience facility for themselves can pick up admission tickets at the Rijk Zwaan stand (Hall 1.2, Stand D-05). The Retail Center is a permanent venue where Rijk Zwaan can develop knowledge about optimising the fresh produce category and share it with retailers and other chain partners. For the duration of the trade fair, Rijk Zwaan will present various packaging concepts and on-shelf displays there. Visitors can also experiment with an eye-tracking headset, which is one of the tools used in shopper research.
Innovation Wall featuring Snack Lettuce, Greentense and MyCubies
In addition to handing out tickets to visit the Retail Center, Rijk Zwaan is presenting its successful innovations and marketing concepts on its Innovation Wall. One of the innovations on display is ‘Snack Lettuce’ which, as the name suggests, is a crunchy, nicely curled lettuce leaf that can be served as a snack with fillings such as guacamole, soft cheese, fish and suchlike. Consumers are increasingly looking for healthy snack ideas and Snack Lettuce adds extra impetus to the fresh produce category.
Another highly promising concept on the Rijk Zwaan Innovation Wall is Greentense – a dark green alternative to standard pole-slicing beans. Extensive tests show that Greentense is not only a healthier option, but that consumers also love its flavour, intense colour and ease of preparation.Last but not least, the MyCubies snack cucumber concept definitely deserves a mention. Following considerable success in Spain, the range is being expanded this year with a new cucumber type called ‘One Bite’. Once again, the clue is in the name; One Bite is even smaller than today’s standard snack cucumbers, making it ideal for inclusion in colourful medleys or in single-portion bags for the rapidly growing snack segment.
Boosting the babyleaf category
A particularly striking novelty is Rocketeerz, a new line of varieties with which Rijk Zwaan is entering the rocket market for the first time. The Rocketeerz varieties are not only innovative in terms of their resistances and production characteristics, but also in terms of their shape, flavour and colour. The new range represents an opportunity for growers, convenience partners and retailers to boost the babyleaf category. Several Rocketeerz varieties will be on display at Fruit Logistica, and the entire range can be seen during the Open Field Days in Cartagena, Spain (from 12-18 February 2018). For more information, go to www.rijkzwaan.com/meet-us/winter-open-field-days-spain.
More information
For more details about Rijk Zwaan’s innovations or to arrange to visit the Retail Center, go to the Fruit Logistica stand (Hall 1.2, Stand D-05) or contact a Rijk Zwaan representative in advance.
Source: Rijk Zwaan
