Last week, Thursday June 8, Rijk Zwaan organized their annual guided tour through their Demonstration house in Leamington, Ontario. Growers, retailers and traders from Canada and the USA came to view, taste and assess the broad range of tomato varieties the Dutch breeding company has to offer. Also this year, several promising new varieties were showcased.
Rijk Zwaan grows a large number of tomato varieties in their high-tech Tomato Demo Greenhouse in Leamington. Interested stakeholders from throughout the chain visited the open day to get a good overview of the assortment and new opportunities. “It’s been a very inspiring day with interesting discussions”, Advisor Greenhouse Crops Marleen van der Torre says. “We are excited to see growers and retailers taking a real interest in how our varieties can help them meet market demands.”
Continuous development
With their product lines and product varieties, Rijk Zwaan anticipates on the North American trends in the food sector. “We continuously develop our assortment based on market information”, Marleen van der Torre explains. “The demand for snack vegetables, for example, remains steady on a high level. So-called medleys, a mix of variously colored grapes, take an important share in this segment. In addition to our well-known red grapes Ternetto and Florantino, we have developed a new yellow grape called Maggino specifically for this purpose.”
Organic is also still trending in North America, for which Rijk Zwaan has its own product line to meet consumer wishes. “We have several varieties in this segment, amongst which Endeavour, a much-wanted variety that is appreciated for its well-balanced taste and outstanding quality, particularly during summer conditions.” Next to this, visitors were especially interested in several promising newcomers in other segments such as Prodezo (large TOV), 72-629 (beef) and 72-002 (cocktail).
During the event, visitors used the Partner RZ app to personalize their experience. By scanning the QR codes of varieties they were interested in, they were provided with all relevant information regarding the variety to which they could also add their own notes. By storing the information and marking favourites in the app, visitors were provided with a good overview of their experience by the end of the event.
Open all season
The next open day is planned for September Thursday 7. However, the demo house is open throughout the season and appointments for other days can be made as well via m.van.der.torre@rijkzwaan.com or by calling the office at 1 519 324 0632.
Check the website of Rijk Zwaan for more information regarding their assortment.