Top-quality standard
Although produced in Thailand, the so-called Japanese melons are known as the top-quality standard of melons in the Asian market. They have become the benchmark for all premium melon growers, Sitthipong explains. “My company is the main supplier of these melons for high-end retailers.”
Sweet, aromatic and dense netting
The Rijk Zwaan varieties Sitthipong favours are the green flesh Sagami RZ and the orange flesh Fujisawa RZ. Both melons have a sweet and aromatic taste and juicy texture, combined with a thick and dense netting and strong peduncle. “Sagami and Fujisawa look very nice and have a good eating quality. The long shelf life is also an important characteristic. The 1.2 to 2.0 kg are my best-selling sizes. I sell about seventy tons per month. They are sold out before competing varieties.”
New melons varieties help to move ‘freshly forward’
To emphasise the premium quality of Sagami and Fujisawa, Sitthipong developed a market brand that carries his name. It shows his speciality as a supplier of high-quality melons. Sitthipong values Rijk Zwaan as a partner in providing these innovative melon varieties. “That is very important for me, because the market always needs something new. It helps me to move ‘freshly forward’.”
Join Rijk Zwaan in moving Freshly Forward
‘Freshly Forward, from Foundation to Future’ – this is the theme Rijk Zwaan has chosen to encapsulate its roadmap for tackling today’s challenges, together with its partners. We will be presenting robust and resilient solutions as well as inspiring innovations at Asia Fruit Logistica 2023. Visit us at Booth 3L12, Hall 3 and join Rijk Zwaan in moving Freshly Forward!
While living in Singapore, Chris Schreurs noticed a gap in the celery market for Australian produce. Driven by a love of innovation, tackling challenges, and a desire to positively impact health and wellbeing, he took over the family farm in Australia with an ambitious plan to expand and export to the Middle East and Asia. Schreurs’ inspiring story matches Rijk Zwaan’s theme at Asia Fruit Logistica to move ‘Freshly Forward, from Foundation to Future’.
Schreurs & Sons is a third-generation, Australian farming business specialising in celery, leek and baby leaf lines. With three properties spanning 1,400 acres across the state of Victoria, Schreurs & Sons is one of the largest suppliers of celery in Australia. Chris looks after the commercial and business operations of the business. “Ten years ago, my cousin, Adam Schreurs, and I purchased the business from the family. Since then, we’ve had a big focus on expanding and diversifying, particularly into export as well as developing our convenience stick range. I believed there were opportunities for Australian produce to expand its horizons in the celery market in Singapore, where there was a lot of produce coming from America. Now, the market is dominated by Australian celery, which is nice to see.”
“The vegetable industry is so dynamic, and you need to have an agile business to adapt. It's an industry where there's a lot of innovation happening all the time and if you’re interested in that side of things, which we certainly are, it's quite exciting. It’s an industry where you can be creative, and you're always looking for new ways and new technologies to implement into your business. We also play an important role in the day-to-day lives of people's health, wealth and wellbeing.”
“The Rijk Zwaan varieties have complemented our own varieties quite well. Over the summer, Sanjit RZ is fast growing and provides a bulkier, heavier stick, which is well suited to the local market. People like it because it’s nice and even, with a good colour throughout and the taste is quite mild. We also use larger sized celery in export, and Sanjit RZ works well. In terms of Kelvin RZ, it has a small but important window in our programme. Both varieties complement what we do and provide diversification in varieties, which also spreads our risk.”
“The majority of what we export is whole heads and we supply directly to Singapore, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in particular Dubai. We certainly feel that over the next five to 10 years there will be more opportunities in Southeast Asia in what I call ‘emerging markets’. This includes Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines and Indonesia. We already send celery to those markets through third parties, but for direct business, over the next five to 10 years, it's certainly a growth area for us.”
Schreurs & Sons’ relationship with Rijk Zwaan isn’t purely transactional. “My family has worked with Rijk Zwaan on celery varieties, collaborating with the company to share knowledge and develop new ideas. The relationship has always been strong and Rijk Zwaan varieties play an important role in our variety programme across a number of crops, including spinach and other crop varieties currently in trial for commercial production. It's always been an open-door policy with Rijk Zwaan and because of that we’ve enjoyed a welcoming and respectful relationship.”
‘Freshly Forward, from Foundation to Future’ – this is the theme Rijk Zwaan has chosen to encapsulate its roadmap for tackling today’s challenges, together with its partners. We will be presenting robust and resilient solutions as well as inspiring innovations at Asia Fruit Logistica 2023. Visit us at 3L12, Hall 3 and join Rijk Zwaan in moving Freshly Forward!
The absolute star of any dish… That’s how the colourful and versatile Sweet Palermo® was promoted in the consumer campaign run by Malaysian retail chain The Food Purveyor together with Rijk Zwaan and local grower Nuovoland. “This surprisingly sweet pointed pepper can be used in both traditional and modern cuisine, and for both cooking and snacking. And because it can be grown locally, it can also help our farmers secure a good income,” says Ang Jia Yi from The Food Purveyor. During Asia Fruit Logistica, Sweet Palermo will be showcased at the Rijk Zwaan booth in line with the theme ‘Freshly Forward, from Foundation to Future’.
Malaysian retailer The Food Purveyor (TFP Retail Sdn. Bhd.) currently operates five supermarket brands - Village Grocer, Ben's Independent Grocer (B.I.G.), BSC Fine Foods, Leisure Grocer, Pasaraya OTK and an e-commerce platform Bites Shop - and manages 36 stores in the regions of Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang. “Our company takes pride in curating and selecting the best-quality food products, sourced both worldwide and locally," explains Ang Jia Yi, Senior Category Manager Fresh at the retail chain.
Sweet Palermo is one of those high-quality food products selected by the retailer. To build consumer awareness about these surprisingly sweet pointed peppers, The Food Purveyor ran a campaign both online and in stores in spring 2023. Ang Jia Yi: “During the Raya and Ramadan, our Muslim customers open up their houses. Colourful dishes can bring cheer to any special occasion. We shared creative yet simple Sweet Palermo-based snack ideas online. The Rijk Zwaan recipe bank and marketing materials were very helpful.”
Besides that, customers could taste Sweet Palermo snacks for themselves in 38 stores across the four different formats. “That helped to increase the exposure and to stimulate repeat purchases for both snacking and cooking,” she continues.
In order to support a ‘fresh future’, Ang Jia Yi believes it is not only important to stimulate consumption, but also to encourage high-quality fruits and vegetables like Sweet Palermo to be produced locally in Malaysia. “The food supply shortage is an issue for us. Local production in the Cameron Highlands will enable us to offer our customers good, sustainable food with consistent quality at a reasonable price. This will also empower farmers to secure a good income. We appreciate the fact that Rijk Zwaan supports Malaysian growers by selling high-quality seeds that are suitable for the Malaysian climate and aligned with the market trends.”
One of the growers already producing Sweet Palermo in Malaysia is Nuovoland. Manager Lau Shu Yuan values the close relationship with The Food Purveyor and Rijk Zwaan. “Since Rijk Zwaan launched Sweet Palermo in this region, we have grown the red, orange and yellow sweet peppers. It has been a successful pepper type in terms of germination, pest control and yield. The secret to growing high-quality fruit is both moisture and EC control. The plant gives fruits for up to five months, which makes it a great solution for growers.”
So is the Sweet Palermo campaign helping to move the business ‘freshly forward’? “For us, it’s important to focus first and foremost on building customer recognition, because it was initially hard to sell the sweet peppers in the local market,” states Lau Shu Yuan. “The marketing approach in partnership with both seed supplier and retailer will create long-term benefits. We hope to work with Rijk Zwaan on more products in the future.”
The Food Purveyor also values the close collaboration. “Rijk Zwaan helps retailers to get a good and consistent supply of fresh produce. Moreover, the company’s ideas tailored to the local cuisine can help to further increase the consumption of Sweet Palermo in Malaysia,” concludes Ang Jia Yi.
‘Freshly Forward, from Foundation to Future’ – this is the theme Rijk Zwaan has chosen to encapsulate its roadmap for tackling today’s challenges, together with its partners. We will be presenting robust and resilient solutions as well as inspiring innovations at Asia Fruit Logistica 2023. Visit us at Booth 3L12, Hall 3 and join Rijk Zwaan in moving Freshly Forward!
Using a broad range of lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, consumers can create numerous delicious and attractive dishes. A total of 15 commercial and quality team members at Central Retail Vietnam discovered this during a recent training session by Rijk Zwaan specialists. “The training helps us to build a better portfolio,” says Trung Thanh Le from the retailer. By sharing knowledge, the vegetable breeding company helps its partners to move ‘Freshly Forward, from Foundation to Future’ – which is also Rijk Zwaan’s theme at this year’s Asia Fruit Logistica.
Central Retail Vietnam is on a mission to make customers’ lives easier. Every day, the company’s 15,000 empowered and passionate employees welcome 390,000 customers across the 340-plus store network. “Fresh food plays an important role in our business model. It meets the daily needs of our consumers and also serves as a traffic builder to drive trips to our stores. Vietnamese consumers can of course buy fresh food at the wet markets, but our customers come to us because of the wide range, best offers and food safety,” states Trung Thanh Le, Manager Fresh Food Value Chain at Central Retail Vietnam.
Because of the significance of fresh food in its business strategy, Central Retail Vietnam was very enthusiastic about the customised training offered by Rijk Zwaan. “We have trust in the brand. Moreover, Rijk Zwaan and Central Retail Vietnam share the same vision on how we want to contribute to our customers and to society,” he explains.
During two days in March, the staff members learnt about the trends and opportunities in lettuce, peppers (Capsicum), tomatoes and cucumbers from the Rijk Zwaan specialists Hong Tran, Natalie Ngoc Nguyen and Friso Klok. The training will help Central Retail Vietnam to move ‘freshly forward’, according to Trung Thanh Le: “Our buying team experienced the different types of lettuce and why each type is unique in its own right. This product knowledge helps us to build a better assortment and portfolio for our end consumers.”
Rijk Zwaan’s product usage expertise was also very welcome, according to the participants’ feedback. “I now have a better understanding of products, seeds and product specifications,” claimed one of them. “It’s interesting that we can make many delicious and beautiful dishes from just one product,” another participant commented. Trung Thanh Le is positive about this new knowledge: “It will help us to communicate better with consumers at store level and also to develop new market segments.”
To achieve those goals, Trung Thanh Le is keen to continue collaborating with Rijk Zwaan in the ‘fresh future’. “We need to think of different ways to market our products and build better loyalty among our customers. One example has been the Crystal Lettuce marketing campaign we did together. These kinds of joint activities put us on the right track to realise new opportunities,” he concludes.
‘Freshly Forward, from Foundation to Future’ – this is the theme Rijk Zwaan has chosen to encapsulate its roadmap for tackling today’s challenges, together with its partners. We will be presenting robust and resilient solutions as well as inspiring innovations at Asia Fruit Logistica 2023. Visit us at Booth 3L12, Hall 3 and join Rijk Zwaan in moving Freshly Forward!
Japan is known for its healthy and artful cuisine, yet raw vegetables and salads are typically used only as a garnish or as small side dishes. Sun Globe Food’s new partnership with Rijk Zwaan is helping to change this, starting with Knox™ Cos lettuce. “The Knox trait is groundbreaking for us,” explains Yoshikuni Anzai, chairman of Sun Globe Food. Rijk Zwaan is showcasing this lettuce at Asia Fruit Logistica from 2-4 November in Bangkok.
Sun Globe Food is a family-run business founded in 1978. Since then, Chairman Yoshikuni Anzai has constantly sought better ways of meeting demand. The fresh food company processes 15 tonnes of lettuce a day for business customers such as popular fast-food outlets and the up-and-coming salad restaurant chain called Margo.
Sun Globe Food was aware of Rijk Zwaan’s innovations for business customers, and the demo field in Fijnaart made a strong impression on mr Anzai when he visited in 2018. “It was truly interesting, with over 400 colourful leafy varieties,” Anzai says. “I was surprised that 70 employees were dedicated to the development of Knox lettuce alone.” The Knox trait delays pinking in fresh-cut lettuce. To explore the benefits in practice, Sun Globe Food formed a partnership with Rijk Zwaan in 2018.
“We have been developing fresh-cut vegetables, especially iceberg lettuce, for our business customers over the past 40 years, but certain issues have persisted,” Anzai explains. In particular, shelf life after harvesting and pinking after cutting are constant challenges. “The development of addressing these issues inside a lettuce seed is groundbreaking for us.”
Ryoji Anzai, president of Sun Globe Food and the son of the chairman, comments: “In the Japanese market, ‘normal’ lettuce has a shelf life of three days after arrival, but Knox lettuce has an expected shelf life around one week.”
Down the line to business customers, the partnership is working to bring a fresh new outlook on eating in Japan. Initially, the focus has been on Rijk Zwaan Knox Cos variety Tuccadona RZ. “Compared with other varieties, Tuccadona RZ has a good sense of freshness, crispness and flavour,” mr. Anzai notes. Since May 2019, Sun Globe Food has been supplying this variety to Margo, Japan’s first-ever specialty salad chain. Its stylish urban stores feature something unusual in Japan: big, healthy salads. Needless to say, lettuce plays a central role.
“Thanks to strong support from Sun Globe Food, we now have five stores in Tokyo, and we can see signs that salad foods are spreading in Japan, which has traditionally been carbohydrate heaven,” states Masayuki Tokoi, CEO of Margo. He is impressed by the reduced pinking along the cut edges of the Knox-lettuce, as well as the longer shelf life. He says this gives him a surplus and that Margo’s “customers appreciate its appearance and taste”. In Japan, where the aesthetic appeal of food is valued perhaps more than in any other country in the world, this is high praise indeed.
Building on the success with Knox, the cooperation is now expanding into Crunchy lettuce and Snack lettuce. Both father and son are optimistic. “I am convinced Rijk Zwaan will be a partner that develops products together with us,” comments Ryoji Anzai. His father echoes that sentiment, saying that he hopes the companies can share information and work together on new solutions that satisfy business needs. Meanwhile, Tokoi, as the end customer, appreciates the strong supply chain. “Rijk Zwaan is the world leader in developing lettuce varieties, the lifeblood of our products, so that’s very reassuring,” he concludes. Leafy vegetables appear to have a bright future in Japan.
To stimulate retailers, traders and other chain partners in Asia to add more colour in the fresh produce category, Rijk Zwaan will showcase its colourful palette of bright, healthy and inspiring vegetables at Asia Fruit Logistica from 2-4 November in Bangkok. Come and meet us at stand F-17!
Rijk Zwaan’s colourful range of snack vegetables made its debut on the Indian market just last year. Today, SN!BS are already sold through six grocery retail chains in India and demand is outstripping supply. Vinod Kumar M., Head of Sourcing Fruit & Vegetables at online grocery retailer Bigbasket, comments: “These beautiful-looking snack items increase our offering to our consumers.” Rijk Zwaan will be presenting these bright, healthy and inspiring eye-catchers at Asia Fruit Logistica.
Ajit Bisoi, Rijk Zwaan Chain Manager in India, played a key role in this success by introducing SN!BS to both online and offline retailers. “Snack vegetables are a completely new category in India. We started growing these snack cucumbers, tomatoes and sweet peppers at our own Research & Development facility in Bangalore, because growers didn’t want to take the risk. I travelled a lot of miles to supply the products to retail partners like SPAR and Nature’s Basket. Attractive packaging solutions and promotional activities supported a successful introduction at SPAR.”
At first, retail partners and consumers were a little reluctant to try the snack peppers, Bisoi explains. “They thought they might taste spicy, but they were surprised by the sweet flavour. We now offer three mixes: red, yellow and orange tomatoes, red, yellow and orange peppers, and green and white cucumbers. If a new product has a unique selling point – healthy, colourful snacks – it will inevitably become popular. We see a lot of repeat sales, which is a good sign. Currently, the demand is much higher than the supply.”
One of the Indian retailers that sells SN!BS is Bigbasket, a leading online grocery retailer with a 46% market share in this segment. The company operates in more than 45 cities, Vinod Kumar M., the retailer’s Head of Sourcing Fruit & Vegetables, is enthusiastic about the concept: “SN!BS is a very attractive product for consumers who have done some travelling abroad and are now looking for a gourmet range of products. The colours appeal to the customers at first sight.”
Kumar strongly values Bisoi’s commitment. “Ajit has been really very collaborative and keeps coming up with new ideas. The collaboration with Rijk Zwaan brings our customers a very good range of high-quality, healthy vegetables that add colour to their diet. And these innovative products can inspire new young chefs,” he comments.
Because of the high demand, the Rijk Zwaan chain manager is now scaling up the production. Bisoi: “Besides Bigbasket and SPAR, online retailer Zepto and offline retailers STAR BAZAAR, LULU Hypermarket and Nature’s Basket are also on board. We have trebled the size of our cultivation area and producer Nutrifresh has started growing these snack vegetables in Pune. Hopefully, by 2025, our SN!BS will be in every corner of India.”
To stimulate retailers, traders and other chain partners in Asia to add more colour in the fresh produce category, Rijk Zwaan will showcase its colourful palette of bright, healthy and inspiring vegetables at Asia Fruit Logistica in Bangkok from 2-4 November.
Come and meet us at stand F-17!