Thinking about strawberries might make you feel like summer - but strawberries actually thrive best when the temperatures are slightly lower than in the increasingly hot summers. So it'll not come as a surprise that more and more strawberries are being grown under glass and in wintertime. At the Dutch strawberry farm Brookberries, they have been growing them twelves months a year - and have done so since 2014. Marcel Dings: "In fact, the taste of exposed strawberries in winter is even better than in summer."
2.5 million kilos
It's been twenty years since Marcel Dings accidentally ended up into the strawberry industry - after he bought an existing greenhouse in which the plants were grown. He enjoyed it so much that ever since he has been renewing and strengthening his company; since 2008 together with his business partner Peter van den Eertwegh. They now grow strawberries on four locations around the Dutch city Venlo, resulting in a total acreage of 19.5 hectares. Brookberries is a member of the Fossa Eugenia and every year 2.5 million kilos of strawberries are being sold via this growers' cooperative.
Traditionally, the peak in the glass strawberry harvest is in the periods April-May and October-December, just before and just after the season of the outdoor-grown strawberries. "When we noticed the demand for glass strawberries in March, we decided to see if we could produce," says Marcel. "One thing led to another and now we can produce year-round."
To do so, about five hectares at Brookberries is equipped with lighting. Until last winter season this was traditional SON-T lighting, but ever since January 2019 the strawberries are growing under more energy-efficient LEDs. An additional advantage is that many different light spectra are possible with LED lighting. "In collaboration with research institute Delphy, we have been working for a few years now to figure out the ideal light recipe for strawberries. Over time we will be able to adjust the spectrum during the day so that it is a beautiful spring day for the crop every day."
Consumer responds
Eating strawberries year-round from the greenhouse just around the corner - that was something the consumer wasn't quite ready for. According to Marcel, the challenge was to show the consumer the specific qualities of the strawberries and to show the quality of the Dutch winter cultivation. "Spanish, Moroccan or Egyptian products have been known to the consumer for many years as the strawberry that is in stores in the winter. The consumer buys that product because it is relatively inexpensive and looks like strawberries," Marcel laughs.
According to him, the same red fruit from the greenhouse certainly differs from the imported fruit from the south. "The taste is much better, much sweeter, especially in the winter. In summer there is a lot of light, but the temperature is often too high, so strawberries ripen too fast and have too little time to attract sugars. The size is often also disappointing. And do not be mistaken: Also in Spain strawberries are grown mainly during the winter. It is often too hot in the summer to get proper fruits."
Growing in the optimal climate
Certainly in the winter, when the outside temperature is low, the climate to grow strawberries is almost perfect in the greenhouse. "In the greenhouse we are in charge of the temperature. With the right amount of light, there is a certain temperature that ensures that the crop can produce the optimal amount of sugars. If the temperature is too high, it is as if you are trying to drive 180 kilometers per hour with a Deux-Chevaux. It's just not the same feeling as when you do it with a Mercedes."
Highest demand
The demand for strawberries traditionally still peaks during the 'traditional' season. "Because consumers are so used to them being available in that period. But the seasons are fading and nowadays almost everything is available all year round - you name it and it's there. Even asparagus, that have traditionally been the ultimate seasonal product, are available all year round."
Sell as much as possible at the front
Up until the Russian boycott, the strawberries from the Dutch winter crops went to Russia, where wealthy millionaires feasted on the ripe, red fruits. When that changed in the summer of 2014, a new market had to be found. "We did not light our crop before the boycott, but still we had to create a market for our production. Fortunately, and also thanks to our producer organization Fossa Eugania, since 2014 more and more supermarkets offer the greenhouse grown strawberries during the winter, together with the imported strawberries from the south. Our biggest advantage is the taste - a factor that plays a bigger role than in the greenhouse vegetables, but is very important since our production costs are higher and result in a higher price on the shelves."
The price difference is as much as twice the price - and still the demand for greenhouse strawberries is there. To guarantee year-round production, Brookberries works with crop rotation. In three sections of 1.7 hectares each, equipped with SON-T or LED lighting, they plant June bearers three times. These come into production eight to ten weeks after planting and can be harvested for about the same amount of time. "Together with Fossa Eugenia we have looked for customers for the production. As much product as possible is sold on forehand. We don't want to produce the fruits when the market isn't ready for them. However, we're still working with plants - a living product. You always have to deal with production that's slightly lower or higher than estimated and you can never sell a hundred percent of your product in advance. It is important to keep a certain margin, so that you can always deliver what you promised. As a rule, every year there are a number of times that we deliver product to the day traders, but this occurs more often in summer than in winter. In the greenhouse we have the possibility to steer better and to answer to the market even better."
Recognize the taste
In order to remain distinctive in the market, which is undeniably growing, it is important to keep innovating. Last autumn, it was therefore announced that Marcel, together with three other growers, would start with a Strawberry Innovation Cluster. "After the Dutch organization for Horticultural Research (Productschap Tuinbouw) stopped in 2015, a lot of research was lost. With the Stichting Aardbei Onderzoek (Foundation for Strawberry Research), we as a sector have continued important studies aimed at, for example, pest control. Now that companies are upscaling, there is a need to also investigate innovations. One of the things on the agenda is to look further at how the light recipe influences the ingredients of the strawberry."
Knowledge on the ingredients of the product contribute to the growers' need to distinguish themselves with their product - something that has been important to the company long before and for example is shown as well by their decision to package their own product in 2014. "My ultimate dream is to make a brand of our product. I realize very well that this is still a huge task. The consumer wants to pay more for something that is tasty, but it must also be recognizable as such. And if you then have such a brand, you also have to fulfill all your promises. Therefore you also need good partners in the chain, because even if your product is the best, if it is then cooled badly, the consumer will be disappointed after purchase. And at that moment they will see your brand, your product."
Before the strawberries of Brookberries are on the shelves under their own (Fossa) brand, there is still a long way to go. "At the moment we are filling a lot of private labels and there is nothing wrong with that. In the end it is of course also about the ROI. And do not confuse yourself on such a brand position, there are also disadvantages. It limits you, for example, in the choice of your retail partners, because if you end up with your brand in one supermarket, you will be less attractive to their competitors."
For more information:
Brookberries
www.brookberries.nl
For sales:
Fossa Eugenia
http://fossaeugenia.com/en/teler/brookberries-b-v