The organic trial field enabled us to make a difference

Close relationships with regular customers

Although the two Client Managers themselves were not around 30 years ago, they are familiar with the history. “The organic sector was strongly driven by ideology, with German growers at the forefront. Especially in the Rhineland region and in Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, organic growers had close personal relationships with their customer base at the weekly local markets. The customers valued the healthy vegetables that had been grown without chemicals and with consideration for natural soil fertility,” Müller comments.

The late Maarten Zwaan, who helped to shape Rijk Zwaan into the company it is today, spotted potential in this niche. Around 1994, he set up a working group to focus on variety selection and seed production for the organic market.

Lettuce with extensive resistances

Rijk Zwaan was the market leader in lettuce, so the working group focused on that crop first. And what organic growers consider important has not changed since the 1990s, according to Pape.

“First and foremost, it’s about resistances, because organic growers have fewer options to protect their crops. In lettuce, the main resistances are against Bremia and the currant lettuce aphid. In addition, a high cultivation rate at low nitrogen levels is essential for growers.”

Müller mentions several varieties from that early period: “Lettuce variety Nadine RZ was very successful among organic growers because of its extensive resistances. Batavia lettuces like Tirolion RZ performed very well too, because as a different lettuce type it helped organic growers to differentiate themselves from conventional growers. It had a good flavour, was easy to grow and had a long shelf life. And the introduction of our Nr:0 currant lettuce aphid-resistant varieties Fortunas RZ and Vetonas RZ in 1997 marked a breakthrough in this market and offered organic growers peace of mind.”

An organic trial field

After starting with lettuce, Rijk Zwaan added more and more vegetable crops to its organic range, such as carrot, cabbage, celery, spinach, beetroot and leek, as well as vegetables for protected cultivation such as courgette, tomato, cucumber, aubergine and sweet pepper.

The opening of the organic trial field in Welver, Germany, in the late 1990s was a significant step in promoting this wide range. The internal ‘Strukturpapier Organic’ dating from 2006, found by Müller in the company archives, regards this as an important milestone.

“We became the first vegetable breeding company with an organic trial field, and this was welcomed by the sector. Since then, we have hosted organic growers, associations and traders both from Germany and the rest of Europe for demo days in September. While we take the groups on a guided tour of our crops, we exchange knowledge and create partnerships.”

Knowledge, quality and partnerships

Rijk Zwaan believes this spirit of partnership will remain valuable in the future, even though the scale of the sector has significantly increased on both the grower side and the market side. The ‘Strukturpapier’ from 2006 appears to have predicted the future correctly when it wrote: “Consumers are uncertain about residues, want to live long, healthy lives, and are increasingly buying from supermarkets. These are adding organic products to their ranges.”

Although the sector has become bigger and more professional, Rijk Zwaan continues to cherish its personal relationships with growers and chain partners, according to Pape. “We regard knowledge, quality and partnerships as our three core values. The organic sector can depend on us, both for outdoor cultivation and protected crops in Germany, Europe and worldwide – now and in another 100 years’ time,” he states.

Celebrate Rijk Zwaan’s milestones in Welver

Collaboration with our customers has been essential in enabling Rijk Zwaan to reach the 100-year milestone. You’re invited to join us in celebrating this special occasion in Welver on 26 September. We will also honour Rijk Zwaan’s 30 years in the organic sector.