Satisfaction from field to fork
01 February 2010 11:11
Gill McShane
You might be forgiven for thinking consumer demands are all this business is striving to satisfy, and, ultimately, I suppose they are. At the end of the day, the goal is to sell produce – at a good price and with the guarantee of repeat purchase.
But before those fruits and vegetables have the chance to reach consumers, they must first jump through a number of supply chain hoops. Just throw in calls for high yields, resistance to pest and disease, flavor and food safety and you’ll know what I mean about adhering to a myriad of requirements right the way from field to fork.
As our cover story illustrates, the seed industry is tackling head-on this challenge of juggling the ever-evolving and complex needs of growers, exporters, importers, retailers, foodservice providers and, of course, consumers, who are fundamentally fanning the flames of innovation in both fruit and vegetable seed development.
While still focusing on basic, must-have traits (like productivity and shelf-life), seed breeders are also helping to bring the highest quality and lowest priced products to the market by meeting demands from right across the board as well as all around the world.
It’s no surprise, therefore, to hear seed industry leaders talking about entering a “fascinating time”, particularly as newer influences such as climate change and environmental sustainability give the sector even more food for thought.
Research and development has always gone hand-in-hand with the evolution of the produce trade, and with technology today seemingly knowing no boundaries the seed industry has become impressively sophisticated, able to map the genetics of a given fruit or vegetable in order to shape varieties which are perfectly in sync with specific requirements.
Just take Monsanto’s new EverMild sweet onion for instance, which promises not to make consumers cry as much, and its Honeydew melon which changes color when ripe. Or, Nunhems’ Intense tomato, which doesn’t lose all of its juice when cut. Plus, Rijk Zwaan’s Caribbean cantaloupe melon range, developed with a brand-new set of genetics and designed to tick a whole range of supply chain boxes.
New varieties offer the produce business a fantastic opportunity to both tap into market demand as well as drive a particular segment or category. Who can forget how the extra sweet MD2 pineapple has revolutionized consumption of the fruit in the last decade (see p44). Whether practical or innovative, what is for sure is that the seed industry has many more tricks up its sleeve.
You might be forgiven for thinking consumer demands are all this business is striving to satisfy, and, ultimately, I suppose they are. At the end of the day, the goal is to sell produce – at a good price and with the guarantee of repeat purchase.
But before those fruits and vegetables have the chance to reach consumers, they must first jump through a number of supply chain hoops. Just throw in calls for high yields, resistance to pest and disease, flavor and food safety and you’ll know what I mean about adhering to a myriad of requirements right the way from field to fork.
As our cover story illustrates, the seed industry is tackling head-on this challenge of juggling the ever-evolving and complex needs of growers, exporters, importers, retailers, foodservice providers and, of course, consumers, who are fundamentally fanning the flames of innovation in both fruit and vegetable seed development.
While still focusing on basic, must-have traits (like productivity and shelf-life), seed breeders are also helping to bring the highest quality and lowest priced products to the market by meeting demands from right across the board as well as all around the world.
It’s no surprise, therefore, to hear seed industry leaders talking about entering a “fascinating time”, particularly as newer influences such as climate change and environmental sustainability give the sector even more food for thought.
Research and development has always gone hand-in-hand with the evolution of the produce trade, and with technology today seemingly knowing no boundaries the seed industry has become impressively sophisticated, able to map the genetics of a given fruit or vegetable in order to shape varieties which are perfectly in sync with specific requirements.
Just take Monsanto’s new EverMild sweet onion for instance, which promises not to make consumers cry as much, and its Honeydew melon which changes color when ripe. Or, Nunhems’ Intense tomato, which doesn’t lose all of its juice when cut. Plus, Rijk Zwaan’s Caribbean cantaloupe melon range, developed with a brand-new set of genetics and designed to tick a whole range of supply chain boxes.
New varieties offer the produce business a fantastic opportunity to both tap into market demand as well as drive a particular segment or category. Who can forget how the extra sweet MD2 pineapple has revolutionized consumption of the fruit in the last decade (see p44). Whether practical or innovative, what is for sure is that the seed industry has many more tricks up its sleeve.
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