September 19, 2015
On Friday 18 September, during the Deutschen Obst & Gemüse Kongress in Düsseldorf, Germany, Rijk Zwaan received the Grüner Merkur award. The vegetable breeding company was honoured with this prestigious accolade in recognition of its achievements in boosting the fresh produce category.
According to the jury, Rijk Zwaan demonstrates how collaboration throughout the entire vegetable chain can support the development of successful products. “This is the only way to identify consumer wishes and future trends. The continual exchange of knowledge and the company’s future-oriented approach form an excellent basis for making carefully considered decisions about research and development.”
R&D investment
Rijk Zwaan has a strong focus on innovation; the family-owned company takes a long-term approach and invests approximately 30% of its revenue in research and development each year. “Rijk Zwaan repeatedly succeeds in launching innovative products which boost the sector as a whole and help to broaden the category. Hence, Rijk Zwaan is doing the industry a great service,” concluded the jury.
Chain projects
Germany is an important market for Rijk Zwaan. It is there that, in the early 1990s, the company set up its very first chain projects which aligned supplies from growers of the same varieties with retailers’ demand levels. Shortly afterwards Rijk Zwaan established further projects to address the specific needs of processors, food service companies and other links in the chain. Among other things, such collaborative projects facilitated the introduction of the Salanova ‘convenience lettuce’ – winner of the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award 2006 – and enabled a successful extension of the tomato range. In 2012 the social salad network Lovemysalad.com was launched as a platform for interaction between the professional vegetable chain and consumers.
Win-win situations
“In the past 20 years we have built up many long-lasting partnerships around the world, and we always strive for win-win situations,” says Jan Doldersum, Manager Marketing & Business Development. “We’re extremely proud to receive the Grüner Merkur and see this recognition by the sector as extra encouragement to proceed in the same manner. We intend to continue working together with our partners in the future to develop healthy and appealing products and hence contribute to increasing global vegetable consumption.”
The Grüner Merkur is an initiative of the German trade publication Fruchthandel and is awarded annually to a person or organisation in the international fruit and vegetable business. For more information about the Grüner Merkur, see http://www.fruchthandel.de/awards/gruener-merkur/gruener-merkur/
Rijk Zwaan gewinnt Grüner Merkur 2015
On Friday 18 September, during the Deutschen Obst & Gemüse Kongress in Düsseldorf, Germany, Rijk Zwaan received the Grüner Merkur award. Rijk Zwaan was honoured with this prestigious accolade in recognition of its achievements in boosting the fresh produce category.
According to the jury, Rijk Zwaan demonstrates how collaboration throughout the entire vegetable chain can support the development of successful products. “This is the only way to identify consumer wishes and future trends. The continual exchange of knowledge and the company’s future-oriented approach form an excellent basis for making carefully considered decisions about research and development.”
R&D investment
Rijk Zwaan has a strong focus on innovation; the family-owned company takes a long-term approach and invests approximately 30% of its revenue in research and development each year. “Rijk Zwaan repeatedly succeeds in launching innovative products which boost the sector as a whole and help to broaden the category. Hence, Rijk Zwaan is doing the industry a great service,” concluded the jury.
Chain projects
Germany is an important market for Rijk Zwaan. It is there that, in the early 1990s, the company set up its very first chain projects which aligned supplies from growers of the same varieties with retailers’ demand levels. Shortly afterwards Rijk Zwaan established further projects to address the specific needs of processors, food service companies and other links in the chain. Among other things, such collaborative projects facilitated the introduction of the Salanova ‘convenience lettuce’ – winner of the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award 2006 – and enabled a successful extension of the tomato range. In 2012 the social salad network Lovemysalad.com was launched as a platform for interaction between the professional vegetable chain and consumers.
Win-win situations
“In the past 20 years we have built up many long-lasting partnerships around the world, and we always strive for win-win situations,” says Jan Doldersum, Manager Marketing & Business Development. “We’re extremely proud to receive the Grüner Merkur and see this recognition by the sector as extra encouragement to proceed in the same manner. We intend to continue working together with our partners in the future to develop healthy and appealing products and hence contribute to increasing global vegetable consumption.”
The Grüner Merkur is an initiative of the German trade publication Fruchthandel and is awarded annually to a person or organisation in the international fruit and vegetable business. For more information about the Grüner Merkur, click here
Rijk Zwaan wint Grüner Merkur 2015
Tijdens het Deutschen Obst & Gemüse Kongress in Düsseldorf heeft Rijk Zwaan vrijdag de Grüner Merkur ontvangen. Het groenteveredelingsbedrijf heeft deze prestigieuze award te danken aan de impuls die zij geeft aan het groenteassortiment.
Volgens de jury toont Rijk Zwaan hoe samenwerking met de gehele groenteketen kan bijdragen aan de ontwikkeling van succesvolle producten. ‘Alleen zo kunnen de wensen van consumenten en toekomstige trends in kaart worden gebracht. De voortdurende uitwisseling van kennis en de vooruitziende blik van de onderneming vormen een uitstekende basis om zorgvuldige keuzes te maken in onderzoek en ontwikkeling.’
Investeringen in R&D
Rijk Zwaan is sterk gefocust op innovatie; het familiebedrijf richt zich op de lange termijn en investeert jaarlijks circa 30% van de omzet in onderzoek en ontwikkeling. ‘Rijk Zwaan slaagt er telkens weer in om innovatieve producten op de markt te brengen die de sector een blijvende impuls geven en het assortiment verbreden. Daarmee bewijst Rijk Zwaan de branche een uitstekende dienst’, aldus de jury.
Ketenprojecten
Duitsland is voor Rijk Zwaan een belangrijke markt. Begin jaren ’90 werden hier door Rijk Zwaan al de eerste ketenprojecten opgestart waarin aanbod van telers met dezelfde rassen werden gekoppeld aan de vraag van retailers. Al snel speelde Rijk Zwaan ook in op de specifieke wensen van snijderijen, food service bedrijven en andere schakels in de keten. Door die samenwerking kon onder meer gemakssla Salanova worden geïntroduceerd – winnaar van de Fruit Logistica Innovation Award 2006 - en vond een succesvolle verbreding van het tomatenassortiment plaats. In 2012 werd social salad network Lovemysalad.com gelanceerd, waar de professionele groenteketen in contact kan komen met de consument.
Win-win situaties
“In de afgelopen 20 jaar hebben we wereldwijd vele langlopende partnerships opgebouwd, waarin we altijd streven naar win-win situaties”, aldus Manager Marketing & Business Development Jan Doldersum. “We zijn heel trots op de toekenning van de Grüner Merkur en zien deze waardering vanuit de sector als een stimulans om op dezelfde voet door te gaan. Ook in de toekomst willen we samen met onze partners blijven werken aan gezonde en aantrekkelijke producten, en daarmee de wereldwijde consumptie van groenten verhogen.”
De Grüner Merkur is een initiatief van het Duitse vaktijdschrift Fruchthandel en wordt ieder jaar uitgereikt aan een persoon of organisatie in de internationale groente en fruithandel. Voor meer informatie over de Grüner Merkur, klik hier
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