Working together in today’s dynamic market

Rijk Zwaan presented successful concept at Fresh Produce India

At Fresh Produce India on 22 April 2021, Jan Doldersum provided insights into the successful approach of the snack vegetables concept SN!BS.

3 May - Harvest indicators ensure the best-tasting Cantaloupes at all times

UNICA Group in Spain is currently growing two new ready-to-eat melon varieties from Rijk Zwaan: Zinasol RZ and Casasol RZ. Unique changes indicate when it is the ideal time for these Cantaloupes to be harvested.

8 April – Start of International Year of Fruit & Vegetables

Fruit and vegetables come in all shapes, sizes and colours. Raw or cooked. Sweet or bitter. Soft, crunchy or pungent. All of them unique and special. Full of fibre, vitamins and minerals. Fruit and vegetables don’t just fill your plate, but they are part of a healthy diet. So it’s with good reason that the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations is putting fruit and vegetables firmly in the spotlight in 2021! As a vegetable breeding company, we embrace the International Year of Fruit & Vegetables of the FAO. 

25 March - Improving the availability of fresh vegetables in Bandung, Indonesia

In Indonesia, the demand for fresh and tasty vegetables is growing. Sourcing high-quality fruit and vegetables all year round is a huge challenge for food retailers like Superindo. This challenge triggered the start of a successful local chain partnership. 

8 Feb - Ideal partnership with Rijk Zwaan and Love My Salad

Love My Salad and Take Me Home Tomatoes inspire home cooks in Thailand. The Tops supermarket chain in Thailand has been selling intensely sweet Cherry Diva tomatoes since early December under the Take Me Home Tomatoes brand. 

28 Jan - ‘SN!BS is a small step towards a healthier future in India’

Snack vegetables are a completely new concept for them, but consumers in India regard the SN!IBS snack vegetables as attractive, colourful and healthy.

18 Dec - Salanova® varieties create a premium salad segment in Australia

Capitalising on the demand for extreme convenience, Rijk Zwaan’s Salanova® mixed butter leaf varieties provide a premium solution to the needs of many consumers. Frances Tolson, Account Manager from Rijk Zwaan Australia, tells more about the unique ‘one cut, ready’ Salanova® lettuce.

23 Nov - Gramado wins over consumers in São Paulo with healthy ‘veggie boxes’

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Brazilian wholesaler Gramado Group has worked together with vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan to successfully launch an online service to deliver boxes full of fresh, healthy and versatile fruit and vegetables to people’s homes in the metropolis of São Paulo.

10 Nov - Asia Fruit Logistica 2020

The coronavirus outbreak appears to be reinforcing four key consumer trends in particular. At Asia Fruit Logistica ON 2020, Rijk Zwaan will be sharing details of solutions that respond to those trends. Together, we can inspire consumers in this changing market.

29 Oct - Knox™ significantly reduces in-store waste levels

Many years ago, Bakkavor – the leading provider of fresh prepared food (FPF) in the UK – was our first partner to conduct tests with Knox™ lettuce. Those tests demonstrated the shelf life benefit, and the customer is now incorporating Knox varieties into its entire range. In this story Bakkavor shares their experience in their efforts to reduce in-store waste levels. 

22 Oct - "Offering customers a realistic experience"

Twice a year, Rijk Zwaan organises international demo days for open-field crops at its Research & Breeding facility in Fijnaart, the Netherlands. Although coronavirus measures and travel restrictions meant that the set-up was a little different this year, many things remained the same. “The demo field was full of Rijk Zwaan’s very latest lettuce, spinach, brassica and carrot varieties. And just like always, it revolved around personal contact."

19 Oct - ‘Consumers love the unique taste and crunchy bite of Rijk Zwaan cucumbers’

Owned by SPAR Nigeria, Evergreen Dynamic Harvest is a farm that conducts trials of new vegetable varieties which are then consumer-tested in the SPAR Lekki hypermarket next door. A new partnership was formed with Rijk Zwaan at the beginning of this year to trial the Mydas RZ slicer cucumber variety. During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, seed deliveries suffered significant delays – but the Mydas RZ seeds proved to be well worth waiting for.

9 Oct - Rijk Zwaan to focus on inspirational home cooking at virtual PMA Fresh Summit

The PMA Fresh Summit is an annual highlight for the entire fresh supply chain in the US. The 2020 edition is being held from 13-15 October – in a virtual format this year, but just as exciting and innovative as ever. Vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan will be focusing on the overarching theme of ‘Inspiring Ingredients for Home Cooking’.

28 Sept - Fruit & vegetable sales channels have changed permanently

The fresh chain for fruit and vegetables is experiencing similar shifts across the globe. For example, Rijk Zwaan specialists from regions including China, India, Russia, Europe, South Africa and the USA all indicate that the pandemic has accelerated the transition to online shopping and home delivery, which was already underway.

17 Sept - Successful launch of pink beef tomato Kawaguchi RZ in Poland

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic Rijk Zwaan is still introducing new varieties, albeit with some changes to the usual approach. After all, it is difficult to visit greenhouses in person nowadays. The solution lies in digital media, according to Marcin Mech from Rijk Zwaan Poland. 

10 Sept - Bringing healthy Salanova® to a wider audience

Today, healthy food is more important than ever. There is evidence of this in the retail channel too, where consumers are increasingly buying fresh produce – such as Salanova®, for example. Now, thanks to a collaborative partnership between Finca El Sauce and Expo Verde Agricola facilitated by Rijk Zwaan, the product that was already present in the main Argentinian supermarkets, now shows a wider coverage.

7 Sept - Rijk Zwaan Global Open Field e-vent

The role of the vegetable industry in the world food supply is now more important than ever, as is the value of personal interaction. In order to support clients worldwide, the Rijk Zwaan Global Open Field e-vent is being organised in Fijnaart 14 Sept - 16 Oct. This e-vent promises to be a unique mix of personal onsite and digital meetings and to ensure the personal contact Rijk Zwaan is known for, tailor made programs will be offered to clients.

22 July - German campaign for aubergines responds to home cooking trend

A German promotional campaign for aubergines was launched on social media channels including Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest on 14 July 2020. Love My Salad and Rijk Zwaan Welver are working in close collaboration with food bloggers to inspire and educate more consumers about the versatility of this vegetable sort.

10 July - Rijk Zwaan’s global melon & watermelon event

Melon growers, dealers, processing companies and retailers from all over the world are showing an interest in innovations such as the yellow watermelon called Tropical Sunshine and the useful ‘ready to eat’ harvesting indicator. Although the coronavirus crisis has substantially disrupted the market in recent months, the chain is still optimistic about the future.

3 July - Deep red plum tomato finds favour with home cooks

The coronavirus crisis has stimulated new consumer trends in the fresh fruit and vegetable category. Over recent months, for example, European retailers have seen a surge in demand for plum tomatoes as ingredients for home-made soups and sauces. A similar trend is apparent in fresh meal kits, which often include this tomato type.

18 June - Melon Gladial Famosa is the result of a fruitful collaborative partnership

The melon ‘Gladial Famosa’ combines the best of both Rijk Zwaan and Agrícola Famosa. Thanks to the new Gladial Famosa brand, the Brazilian melon production company can guarantee its customers a year-round supply of high-quality melons.

16 June - Vegetable growers looking to accelerate switch to mechanical harvesting due to coronavirus crisis

Due to the coronavirus crisis, vegetable growers and processing companies in countries such as the UK, Spain, Italy and Germany are looking to accelerate their transition to mechanical harvesting. Although the biggest focus is on leafy vegetables, growers of other crops are also interested in increasing the level of automation, according to interviews conducted among European chain partners.

9 June – Marco van Leeuwen reflects on the impact and opportunities of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected global food production. Even though farming and seed sector activities have been broadly exempted from restrictive measures, it is difficult to anticipate what the medium- and long-term impact will be. Seed is a foundational contributor in ensuring food security. Marco van Leeuwen (Board of Directors) reflects on the impact and opportunities of COVID-19 during the annual congress of the International Seed Federation (ISF).

22 May - Help our partners in the vegetable chain

Our teams are doing their utmost to keep the day-to-day activities running smoothly and stay connected with growers and many other business partners. We are embracing every opportunity to continue our support through effective online communication, but we’re staying connected in a one-to-one manner offline as well.

30 April - Virtual crop advice for growers and business partners

The coronavirus outbreak calls for a different approach to communication. But one thing is clear: it doesn’t stop us from providing growers and business partners with the best technical crop advice to support their businesses.

23 April 2020 - Interview Andrea Launeck

"We’re working as hard as always to do our bit to support our growers and others in the fresh produce chain", says Andrea Launeck, Director of Rijk Zwaan Italy. In this interview he reflects on the coronavirus situation and the supply of seeds in Italy. 

Stronger Together

The spread of coronavirus affects us all. Growers, distributors, supermarkets and many others in the food chain are working hard to guarantee there is enough food available. They are all an essential link in the food supply chain every day. That's why over 3,300 employees worldwide are doing their utmost to ensure a continued supply of seeds.

19 March 2020 - Message Board of Directors

Vegetable seeds are at the very start of the food chain. Without vegetables seeds, growers cannot produce vegetables for people to eat.

Read the message of our Board of Directors.