Sales of organic products are on the rise again, which resulted in an optimistic mood at the Biofach event in Nuremberg, Germany. From 11-14 February, this international trade fair for the organic sector attracted visitors from 140 countries – and Heleen Bos, Specialist Marketing Organics at Rijk Zwaan, was among them. She provides a roundup of the highlights.

Biosolarisation is very effective and fairly easy to implement. Organic vegetable growers in Spain have been using this natural method to suppress soilborne diseases for many years. Four weeks of sunshine and high temperatures are a prerequisite for successful biosolarisation. Therefore, the approach could also be interesting for organic growers in other Mediterranean climates.

Snack Lettuce enables retailers across Europe to offer consumers something exciting in the lettuce category. It not only forms a crunchy basis for snacks, but is also available all year round on the continent. This is thanks to close collaboration within the expanding network of growers in Spain, Italy, Germany and Ireland. Four of them explain what makes both the partnership and Snack Lettuce so successful.

Rijk Zwaan is looking forward to welcoming Fruit Logistica attendees to its booth (Hall 1.2, Stand D-13) to explore together how commitment to care can help partners thrive in today’s ever-evolving market. Experts from the fruit and vegetable breeding company are also contributing to a number of parallel events in Berlin. To engage in even more knowledge sharing, customers and partners can sign up to visit the Retail Centre – the company’s very own retail experience facility in Berlin.

Innovation is the only way to stay ahead of the game. That is why South African growing companies, supermarket chain Woolworths and Rijk Zwaan collaborated closely to bring customers something special in both the core fruit and the prepared fruit category: yellow watermelon Tropical Sunshine RZ. “It stands out because of its colour and amazing taste.”

“Tatayoyo® is not just a pepper; it’s a versatile innovative ingredient that can transform dishes,” says Andrea Alvarez from fresh produce company UNICA. Since last year, the award-winning pepper is also being sold at retailer LIDL. “We highly value the close cooperation with Rijk Zwaan and UNICA to bring this to our shelves,” says Boyd Muijs, Vice President of Fresh Purchasing International at LIDL. Innovation and collaboration are just two reasons why Andrea and Boyd are so enthusiastic about this groundbreaking new concept.

By working in partnership with Rijk Zwaan, growers gain early access to the newest resistant varieties. This is of strategic importance to help them meet retailers’ needs and add value for consumers. One example is Anizalla RZ, the new ToBRFV-resistant mini-plum truss variety that is already being grown commercially for sale in Germany and the UK. “We care about bringing varieties to the retail market that add value for consumers in terms of flavour and visual appeal,” says Maarten van der Leeden, Client Manager Sales at Rijk Zwaan in the Netherlands.

In the future, will there still be a sufficient supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, every day and all year round? As climate change and resource shortages mean that availability can no longer be taken for granted, supply chain concerns are increasing among supermarkets. “Growers and retailers can count on our commitment to innovative long-term solutions,” say Rijk Zwaan’s Jan Doldersum and Ingeborg Kleijer.

Growers’ organisation FreshValley, based in the Dutch town of Sevenum, only started producing snack cucumber Quantario RZ in 2024 – and it is already a success. Sales Manager Teun van Roosmalen is proud of the partnership with Rijk Zwaan. “Together, we can get more and more European supermarkets interested. This healthy snack enables them to make their very youngest customers happy.”