For more than ten years, Plantenkwekerij Vreugdenhil has been producing ready-to-pick vegetables in the Netherlands. Not only through cultivation and sales, but breeding as well. "The segment is too small for large seed companies, but big enough to be distinctive with our own breeds," according to Jan van Heijst.
In 2004, Plantenkwekerij Vreugdenhil started something new. Instead of supplying the warm vegetable plants to the vegetable growers, they decided to offer ready-to-pick tomato plants along with their ornamental products. Ready-to-pick vegetable label Pick-&-Joy was born. In the years that followed, they noticed that there were not enough developments in the segment. "For the big seed companies, the segment is barely interesting, and other players hadn’t yet emerged", says Jan van Heijst, who's been with the Pick-&-Joy brand for years. “Due to this, the segment is far too small."
About seven years ago, Plantenkwekerij Vreugdenhil decided to start their own breeding process. They've already registered three ready-to-pick vegetable breeds: a ready-to-pick pepper and two ready-to-pick tomatoes. More novelties are in the pipeline. "Small-leaf breeds that grow quality fruit are preferable, and especially breeds that are robust. To make the plants successful with the consumer, the plants must be foolproof," Jan explains.
The distinction between breeds that continue to grow and those that stop growing (like a shrub) is also important. "You are dealing with different types of consumers," says Jan. "One person wants to ripen the fruits and pick them and then do away with the plant. That would be a product that could fit in well in the greengrocer department of a supermarket as an additional variety of fresh produce. Another customer would like to grow the same tomato for the entire summer, and he'll go to the garden center for that product. We try to anticipate on that." In either case, they would prefer to have a plant with fruits ready to be picked, Jan remarks. And, of course, an organically grown plant would be the best. Currently, the team is trying to grow the ready-to-pick vegetables in a completely organic manner.
On the part of the developers, enough is happening, that much is clear - but what are the results? How does the consumer respond to ready-to-pick vegetables, and is there any demand? At first, it definitely was not an easy segment, Jan says. But by just working on it, the segment has become much more interesting for the chain. "After all, retail also wants a product that is in development and that has diversity. If a customer can choose from one tomato plant and one cucumber plant, he may choose one. If you can choose from six kinds of plants, you may choose more and pick one again the next time. Moreover you can continue to surprise the consumer and in this way continue to demand attention for the product." In recent years, the product range has expanded considerably, and now sixteen plants are available. Peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, different types of tomatoes and also the Potatom: the combination plant that produces both potatoes and tomatoes.
Meanwhile, the ready-to-pick vegetable division at Plantenkwekerij Vreugdenhil has grown so much that a section of the new greenhouse, Kweekvijver 2, will be used for this. In week 3 the demolition began, in week 5 they started with the construction of the new greenhouse.
For more information:
Plantenkwekerij Vreugdenhil
Noord-Lierweg 35a
2678 NA de Lier
Tel.: +31(0)174 513 241
Fax: +31(0)174 512 731
www.pickandjoy.com