The Dutch company Fresh Forward and 
Special Fruit, from Belgium, met in 2010. Several conversations between Patrick Huet and Ben Maes followed. "This question was at the top of their agendas: What does the market want? The answer: A tasty Spanish strawberry with a long shelf life. At that time, Calinda - or FF1201 - was already being developed in Fresh Forward's Spanish breeding program by breeder Bert Meulenbroek," says Special Fruit's Geert de Vries.
"The time had come to introduce Calinda to the market. Special Fruit was the perfect partner for this, as they specialize in year-round soft fruit and were immediately interested and enthusiastic about this new strawberry variety. Special Fruit is still our partner and sells most of these strawberries in Europe," says Ingrid van der Bogt of Fresh Forward.
In 2014, Special Fruit's growers got the first plants, and all agreements were laid down in a contract. But the variety's shelf life had to be tested.
Special Fruit's owner, Ben Maes, and a company quality manager did a test at their growers. Algaida from Freshmiel, Lucena Fruit, Fresh Cortés, Garrido, and Fresh Mellizo applied to take part in this trial.
These growers from southern Spain's Huelva were each given a batch of plants. Special Fruit then distributed these strawberries in Europe.
Things went well, and the collaboration was anchored in a strategic partnership. Once the season begins, Special Fruit will sell 5,500 tons of Calinda strawberries in Europe. They may exclusively and actively offer these to customers in Sweden and Finland. Ireland is currently exclusive to Keelings, a trading company based there.
Aside from Special Fruit, a limited number of fruit trading companies are affiliated with the Calinda Group. Special Fruit and these companies ensure good distribution and sales at various Dutch retailers, like Jumbo, Superunie members, Aldi, and Ekoplaza, as well as other retailers throughout Europe.
"We visited the Huelva region last week. It seems Calinda is off to a good start, with top quality. Our growers are doing their utmost to grow the best quality Calinda, and the current perfect weather is certainly helping," concludes Geert.
For more information:
Ben Maes / Polina Valkanova
Special Fruit
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.calinda.eu
Website: www.specialfruit.be
Website: www.fresh-forward.nl
