July 19, 2021
In recent years we have witnessed various trends in the consumption of vegetables and fruits.
One of the most notable trends is in the watermelon category.
Watermelon was long perceived as inconvenient. Especially with decreasing households, watermelons were found too big, giving too much waste and too heavy to carry. Also the lack of good taste and quality was a reason for people to buy other fruits.
With the introduction of the high quality, high tasting seedless mini and midi watermelons, consumption is increasing rapidly, in some countries over 10% in the last 5 years.
Watermelons are used as a healthy snack, during dinner or lunch or as refreshing drink.
Watermelon is gaining popularity worldwide staying in the top 5 of fresh consumed fruits globally. In the European Union watermelon is the 3rd choice of consumers as refreshment after apples and oranges. In USA watermelon is 3rd choice after bananas and apples.
With the COVID pandemic people started to focus even more on health. Another push forward for watermelon consumption.
Year round offering
Hazera’s global experience in the watermelon industry provides solutions that fit the needs of all partners in the fresh chain now and in the future through close collaboration.
Due to our intensive breeding efforts we are able to offer year round, high quality, high tasting watermelons.
Last week Hazera launched 3 new seedless watermelon varieties in Murcia, Spain targeted for the South European watermelon producers:
- Margay, a uniform, crunchy, great tasting midi watermelon with great feedback from Spanish retailers targeting 2 categories at the same time: fresh cut & fresh.
In the mini seedless category 2 novelties were highlighted for the Spanish production:
- 50037 a mini of 1.3-2.1 kg featuring excellent crunch and taste which was very well appreciated by retailers.
- Latest newcomer 50041 a nice, red round watermelon with excellent shelf life capacity is showing good results in both indoor in Almeria as well as the open field in Murcia.
Watermelon & melon event
The launch of our new range was held as a joint even of Hazera and HM.Clause, two leading companies, part of the Limagrain Group. During the event we focussed on offering solutions for melons and watermelons for the fresh chain.
Looking for solutions?
Looking for more insights on the watermelon category? Or curious on the solutions we can offer?
Don’t hesitate to contact us. We are happy to meet.
Contact details
Mark van der Zouwen
Cucurbits Global Product Manager
Mark.van.der.zouwen@hazera.com
Arjan van Steekelenburg
Chain Manager Fresh Produce
Arjan.van.steekelenburg@hazera.com
Yoav Levy
Cucurbits Regional Product Manager
Yoav.levy@hazera.com
Hazera is a global leader in the seed industry. Hazera brings expertise, commitment and support, combining decades of experience with state-of-the-art technology. Hazera breeds, develops, produces and markets varieties and seeds in a wide range of vegetable crops around the world.
Hazera’s headquarters are situated in Israel and The Netherlands, with subsidiaries in twelve countries and an extensive distribution network providing services in over 100 additional markets. This worldwide presence enables us to be close to our customers. It allows us to offer technical support and to anticipate and respond to local needs by creating varieties that fit specific climates, growing conditions and market requirements.
Hazera is part of the Limagrain Group, an international agri-business based in France. Being a farmers’ cooperative, the Limagrain Group understands the needs of its customers and has grown to become the largest seed company in Europe, specialising in vegetables, field crops and cereal products. Limagrain’s vegetable seed division is the second largest company in the industry.
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