Trial Center Tomato Rijk Zwaan offers complete experience
Since 2011, Rijk Zwaan gives growers, retailers and industry the opportunity to view new and existing varieties in their Trial Center Tomato. This year, the breeding company expects to welcome around 3,000 visitors from all over the world. “Our Trial Center Tomato is a unique location where we can demonstrate the diversity of our product range to partners throughout the entire chain”, says marketing specialist Johan Vis. “In the greenhouse, we grow over a 100 different types of tomatoes. We gather all relevant crop data and compare these against the standard varieties in all segments, from snack tomatoes to beef tomatoes. This season, we can also share new insights regarding the growth of artificially lit tomatoes. We have achieved positive results with new varieties, some of which specifically developed for this cultivation. One such variety is our vine tomato ‘Multicia’.”
Anticipating global trends
With their product lines and varieties, Rijk Zwaan continuously anticipates on global market trends and developments. The seed specialist offers several product lines, such as sensational snacks, convenience, organic and sensational flavours in order to cater to various needs and preferences. “We have expanded our sensational snack line with new varieties such as Maggino, a tasty yellow snack tomato, and Operino, a strikingly pear-shaped orange snack tomato, that increasingly catches the interest of growers and retailers”, Vis reveals. “We are also excited to introduce the one-bite snack cucumber Quatrino and to show the first results of our breeding program on snack pepper”, fellow marketing specialist Heleen van Rijn – Wassenaar adds. “Furthermore, we have developed a small cavity cucumber with a smaller core that is suitable for the convenience industry. And of course, visitors will find many other varieties on display, like our well-known top variety Sweet Palermo.” In the segments in which Rijk Zwaan traditionally holds a strong reputation, such as vine tomatoes, cocktail tomatoes and loose tomatoes, the Dutch company also continues to surprise its visitors with innovative varieties.
Varieties with a story
In the presentation area of the center, Rijk Zwaan paints its visitors an overall picture of the consumer and retail experience. “We do not merely display our various product lines and varieties, but we share their specific story and the opportunities they offer”, Vis explains. “For each segment, we let our visitors experience the added value of our product lines themselves. They can see, feel, smell and taste what we have to offer and get inspired by the videos, photos, recipes and packaging possibilities. And by scanning the QR codes with our RZ Demo app, visitors can store the varieties they are interested in and add their own notes.”
Get inspired
In the presentation area of the trial center, varieties of tomato, eggplant, pepper and cucumber are displayed. In the greenhouse of the center, only tomatoes are grown. The other vegetables are cultivated at different demo locations, which can also be visited.
Today, Thursday June 15, the doors of the Rijk Zwaan demo facility are open to visitors, no appointment needed. To visit the Trial Center Tomato - or another demo location - some other time, contact your Rijk Zwaan account manager or the secretarial department at Rijk Zwaan in the Netherlands to make an appointment.
For more information:
www.rijkzwaan.com/meet-us/trial-center-tomato