Why two millimeters make a difference
Making more slices from a single tomato
Putting fresh tomatoes on sandwiches can be challenging for bakeries and supermarkets. The reason is that time often passes between preparation and sale. Since many tomatoes contain a lot of water, the bread might be soaked and spoiled by the time the consumer wants to eat it. Bayer has therefore developed the so-called “Intense Tomato,” which retains its juice better due to its density. The unit doesn’t only sell vegetable seeds, as the name states – its activities comprise three pillars. Apart from breeding vegetable seeds, they offer technical support to growers and also help market the fresh produce.
To continue with the Intense Tomato example, this red vegetable is a little more difficult to grow. “We don’t leave our clients alone with this challenge. We offer technical advice on the best cultivation time, how to use fertilizers, and the effect trimming certain leaves has,” says Carin Stroeken, Produce Chain Manager at Bayer.
Win-win-win situation for growers, retailers, and consumers
After the fruit is successfully grown, Bayer helps growers market their product. As the produce is more difficult to grow, the tomatoes are more expensive. “Some bakeries have hesitated to buy the Intense Tomato even though they were convinced by the quality,” explains Stroeken. “The costs put retailers under strong pressure.”
Growing hydroponic lettuce in a nutrient-rich water solution
However, Bayer offered a solution. “As we have connections to the entire value chain, we brought together German bakeries and a Dutch processor,” Stroeken continues. This company taught the bakery employees to slice the tomatoes not in the usual five-millimeter-thick strips but in three-millimeter ones. Two millimeters make a huge difference and more slices can be made from a single tomato. “This was a win-win-win situation and it proves that we understand the food chain’s challenges very well,” states the Bayer expert. Growers can sell their high quality produce at a higher price, bakeries can offer a better product at the same price, and consumers don’t have to eat soggy sandwiches.
Vegetable launches at Fruit Logistica
The Vegetable Seeds team will present more of its innovations at Fruit Logistica – which will take place from February 8 to 10, 2017. A huge food trend, for instance, is hydroponic lettuce. These crops don’t grow in soil but in a nutrient-rich water solution in a greenhouse. “In the upcoming decade, we expect that this market will grow by a double-digit percentage,” says Carin Stroeken. At first glance, producing hydroponic lettuce is more expensive than growing it in soil. However, there are also many benefits. Producing in a greenhouse means that growers aren’t dependent on the weather and they get results sooner. Instead of harvesting just once per year, they can harvest up to ten times annually with LED lighting and have an increased yield. For processors, hydroponic lettuce is easier to handle because they don’t have to wash the crop intensively. And consumers can buy a sustainably produced product that requires fewer crop protection products during the growing stage.
Snack carrots with the least amount of green coloring
Bayer is also presenting a new snack carrot design that contains four different varieties. “This is a very special design that we have put a lot of effort into,” explains Carin Stroeken. The carrots aren’t just different colors; they are actually different varieties. Each one has its own taste and different healthy components, yet the growers benefit from their disease resistance. And they have the least amount of green coloring (green shoulders) of any carrots on the market, which helps reduce food loss. “I’m excited to present our innovation to the entire food value chain – and Fruit Logistica is the perfect place to do so,” concludes Stroeken.
For more information:
bayer.com