News

The concept has clearly hit the right spot… the small, organic vegetables sold loose under the catchy name of ‘Little & Fresh’ have proved so popular with consumers in an initial pilot by Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo that the retailer will be rolling out the pilot to 15 of its stores in 2020. In particular the open and transparent collaboration between all the chain partners has been hugely inspiring, according to Harm-Jan Eikelenboom, Marketing Manager at The Greenery, and Peter Polak, Purchasing Manager at Naturelle.

Lettuce is one of the most widely eaten vegetables in the world. It is in the top 10 in the USA, and even holds the number-one spot in a number of countries in northern Europe. Lettuce is so versatile that its use is definitely not limited to salads. It is also an unmissable ingredient in hamburgers, sandwiches and convenience concepts, for example. With the right type of lettuce including extended shelf-life, you’re assured of success every time. But how can you choose the perfect lettuce? Rijk Zwaan’s lettuce specialists can help.

“I was really blown away a couple of times today. Wow – I didn’t realise things were already so advanced!” said Jim Stolze, tech entrepreneur on Saturday 2 November. He was chair of the one-day TechnoHouse event – the leading in-house technology festival organised by vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan.

“Rijk Zwaan’s R&D train continues to hurtle down the tracks because the growing world population is in urgent need of new varieties, new seeds and even better products. It is undeniably a world-class Dutch company,” states the Hillenraad jury report. Rijk Zwaan has secured the number-one spot in this year’s Hillenraad500+ ranking of leading Dutch companies in the horticultural sector. Marco van Leeuwen, one of Rijk Zwaan’s directors, accepted the prestigious prize during the Hortigala event held at the Ridderzaal in the Hague on Friday, 1 November.

Rijk Zwaan, a family-owned company that breeds and supplies vegetable seeds worldwide, generated a record annual turnover of €440 million in its 2018/2019 financial year. This is a new milestone, representing more than 6% growth over the previous year.

The organic vegetable market continues to show robust growth worldwide. Vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan is responding to that growth with new disease-resistant varieties that offer harvest reliability. Lettuce Breeder Johan Schut: “We listen closely to the entire fresh produce chain’s needs, and those needs are focused on what consumers of organic products want: high-quality, chemical-free vegetables that are also affordable.”

On 10 October 2019, Rijk Zwaan organised a customer event especially for cucumber growers from northern Europe. As the name of the event suggests, ‘All about Cucumbers’ was designed to update cucumber growers on the latest developments in terms of cucumber breeding, production and market trends, and to help them capitalise on new opportunities.

On Wednesday, 9 October 2019, Rijk Zwaan held an interesting day to present an exclusive preview of the latest trends in the global market for healthy food, which is currently booming. The day, which highlighted various unique and innovative, health-related concepts, included a special contribution from Fernando Botella, CEO from Think&Action. Rijk Zwaan will be exhibiting at Fruit Attraction 2019-Ifema (Pavilion 9 Stand 9D12) later this month.

Rijk Zwaan’s organic range covers the whole spectrum, from established favourites to interesting newcomers. The vegetable breeding company continues to invest heavily in the development of organic seeds in response to the ever-rising level of demand from growers, retailers and consumers.

The foodservice sector continues to enjoy strong growth worldwide. New restaurants are opening all the time, offering an increasingly diverse choice of food. One thing that unites all foodservice businesses is their quest to find high-quality iceberg lettuce with a long shelf life that also retains its crunch in sandwiches and hamburgers.