Hazera has recently acquired a new high-tech greenhouse next to our headquarters in Made, the Netherlands. According to Yossi Shapiro, Head of R&D, this acquisition marks a significant step in Hazera’s journey to establish a strong position in the high-tech greenhouse tomato industry. He gives insight into the acquisition process, goals in research and development, and what Hazera can offer to the high-tech tomato market.

“Our goal to establish ourselves as one of the leaders in the high-tech tomato market with our mid- to long-term plan, as there is strong competition there”, Yossi says. “This goal was the primary motivation to invest in a state-of-the-art active tomato greenhouse, as you need the best facilities to compete with the best.” Hazera is empowering its tomato portfolio worldwide through the new high-tech tomato project with the strong support of Limagrain’s vegetable seed division. As the largest company in the vegetable seed industry, Limagrain Group has significantly invested in this project.

Backyard transformation
Yossi says multiple options were considered, such as renovating existing facilities or building a greenhouse from scratch. “But the answer was right in our own backyard: to buy an industry-grade, commercial greenhouse operation, that we can readily transform into a research facility with the help of our experts.” André van Zeijl, the previous owner of the greenhouse, has been an independent grower for over 25 years.
He has a lot of experience and will support the transition to a research facility.

With advanced technology and a focus on producing clean seeds through good seed and plant practices (GSPP), Hazera aims to elevate its research capabilities. Another important advantage of acquiring an existing facility, is sustainability. Re-purposing the greenhouse in Made, rather than building a new one, suits Hazera’s strategy of caring for the planet that helps us grow extraordinary seeds. We take our responsibility for the environment very seriously. Hazera has a lot of know-how and experience in breeding high-quality varieties that can be grown with reduced input. It’s great to see that a company like Hazera has such a strong focus on sustainability.

Experts in resistance, yield and taste
When talking about Hazera’s position in the high-tech tomato market, Yossi notes that “We also bring something very valuable to the table: our expertise in developing tomato varieties with strong resistance to diseases, particularly in response to ToBRFV, combined with excellent yield and taste. This can really equip growers to manage their biggest challenges. A great example of this is Pendragon, one of the ToBRFV-resistant varieties that we’ll be growing in the greenhouse. In addition, this greenhouse provides us with the opportunity to further improve yield, fruit quality, and commercial appeal of those varieties, and to implement the innovative techniques and technologies which will increase our efficiency, enhance the R&D outcomes, and accelerate time to market.”

“The Netherlands is the birthplace and center of the global high-tech tomato industry, so it is a natural location for us to launch this program”, Yossi continues. “But the goal of all our efforts is to develop hybrid high-tech tomato varieties to meet the evolving needs of our grower customers, wherever they may be, so they can serve the needs of their customers. When consumers are enjoying tasty and healthfully tomatoes grown from our seeds, we can say that we’ve been successful in our mission.”

A vision for tomorrow
“The heightened level of control and optimization in the high-tech greenhouse environment ensures that we can replicate production conditions under which we want to evaluate the varieties we are developing and advancing. That way, we aim to bring innovation and improvement to high-tech tomato markets around the world.”
“By combining our new active greenhouse research facility in Made, the expertise we have in developing leading tomato varieties, and our experience in customer engagement, we expect to play an important role in the high-tech tomato industry”, Yossi concludes. “There’s an exciting opportunity to grow this part of our business, and it starts with R&D.

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Staay Food Group and Hazera Seeds present new watermelon

Exceed mini watermelon nominated for Fruit Logistica Innovation Award 2024

The Exceed mini watermelon has been nominated for the 2024 Fruit Logistica Innovation Award, marking a proud moment in the long-standing partnership between Staay Food Group and Hazera. The winner will be announced at Fruit Logistica in Berlin (7-9 February), where Staay will be present to premier the Exceed watermelon.

Mark Loojenga, Marketing Manager at Staay Food Group, and Michal Taraska, Global Value Chain Lead at Hazera, discuss the product, the partnership and what to expect at the Food Logistica.

Exceeding expectations
According to Mark and Michal, the Exceed watermelon has earned its nomination through a unique combination of qualities that benefits growers, retailers and consumers. “The Exceed watermelon is a durable and eco-friendly variety, with strong resistance to diseases like powdery mildew and has plants that provide multiple harvests. Not only does this make life easier for the grower, but it also requires less fungicides and significantly less water than the production of traditional watermelons”, Mark says. Michal adds that this also helps reduce food waste: “Exceed makes it possible to reduce losses in production and during transport.”

“And due to the variety’s extended shelf-life of over 5-10 days longer than traditional watermelons, this variety displays a long-lasting freshness in both supermarkets and consumer’s homes”, he continues. With its compact, uniform size the Exceed watermelon answers a strongly growing call in the (Northern) European and American markets for smaller watermelons. “The size is suitable for ever smaller households and easy to keep in the fridge. And they’re seedless, which is both a major convenience for consumers and a waste-saver.” Mark adds. “But it’s the taste and color they come back for.” Michal: “The Exceed mini watermelon has a really sweet and crispy taste, as is shown by its above average Brix level.”

Team effort
The Exceed mini watermelon is the latest success in a long-standing collaboration between Staay Food Group and Hazera. “Staay is a strong and dynamic partner, which is key for successfully introducing a new product to the market”, Michal says. He underlines the importance of such a partnership for Hazera. “We can provide the best Formula One car, but we still need a top-class driver to win the race. In Staay Food Group, we’ve found that driver.”

An analogy Mark wholeheartedly agrees with. “Hazera provides top-quality seeds that are perfectly suited for our fields in Costa Rica. And with this newly developed variety, we perfectly reflect the demands of the market; we’re able to grow the right products. The Exceed mini watermelon is another step in our close and fruitful cooperation.”

Premier release at Fruit Logistica Berlin
The premier release of the Exceed mini watermelon for the European market will take place at Fruit Logistica, where Staay Food Group will be present at stand B45 in hall 3.2. “Here, we will also display a selection of other products we grow and offer ourselves,” Mark elaborates. “For the first time we can show our three club varieties of colored pears together: The Red Conference, Early Desire and Dazzling Gold are all exclusively available through Staay Food Group. Secondly, we show our hydroponic lettuces, and finally our wide range of available vine tomatoes. In addition, we will bring special attention to our branch in Venlo, which focusses on the food service industry. This location provides a quite unique service for the German market, where customers can buy products per box instead of per pallet and can combine different products on one pallet. This is ideal for restaurants, who usually don’t need entire pallets of one product.”

The prize-giving ceremony for the innovation award will take place on 9 February 2024, 2.30 p.m. at the FLIA Technology special exhibition area between Halls 1.1 and 2.1. Mark and Michal agree this nomination “shows we are on the right track in our team effort to successfully align the development, cultivation, sales and marketing of excellent and innovative products.”

Staay Food Group is an international cultivation, sales and marketing organization in fresh fruit and vegetables with a global network; The World is our Garden. Staay Food Group is a family business, founded in 1946. It delivers tailor-made products to customers in retail, wholesale, foodservice and processing.

HAZERA: Growing Together
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.
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.

Growing up on his family farm in Poland, Michal Taraska developed two main interests: agriculture, coming from the family business, and the commercial aspect, stemming from his grandfather who owned the bank in their village. Now, he combines those two passions in his role as Global Fresh Chain Lead for Hazera. In this article, Michal introduces himself and shares his insights on the Global Tomato Congress (GTC) he recently attended in the Netherlands. 

“What I like about working in the seeds business is that you are involved right from the beginning of the process. These early stages are crucial for producing quality products,” Michal says. And when it comes to growing fresh produce, he knows what he is talking about. Having grown up surrounded by crops like onions, sugar beans, and wheat grown for seeds, Michal pursued an Agriculture Course at the University of Science and Technology in Bydgoszcz, followed by a series of jobs with leading seed production companies. For the past 8 years, Michal has been further developing his expertise with the Limagrain group, spending the first five years as the Sales and Development Manager in HM. Clause, and the past three years as a Project Manager responsible for partnerships with retailers.

From local to global impact

“One of our main projects there was to promote our Rosamunda Tomato variety in the fresh chain market,” Michal says. “It was a significant challenge since the Fresh Market was considered saturated and standardized. However, thanks to a strong team effort and a lot of hard work, we managed to introduce our innovative variety on the shelves of many major supermarkets and retailers. It’s an achievement that I’m very proud of.” His successful leadership role in this project led Michal to the conclusion: “If we can achieve this in Poland, can we also do it in other markets and on a global scale? It’s a great challenge with a lot of responsibility, but I’m ready to embrace it.”

Professional goals

As the Global Value Fresh Chain Lead of Hazera, Michal wants to continue getting Hazera’s products on the shelves of major retailers worldwide. “We have fantastic products and innovations that I want to introduce to the world. Another important goal of mine is to develop strong relationships with the people within our company and sister companies because achieving our goals will always be a team effort and lead to team victories. My new position combines the three things I love most about our field of work: the inspiring people, a healthy product that can have a positive impact on people’s lives, and the challenging projects we undertake.”

Inspiration all around

To find solutions for the challenges that come his way, Michal draws inspiration from two main sources; other people and the world at large. “I believe that listening to others, especially those with different perspectives, is an essential resource for generating new ideas on how we approach our business. But inspiration also comes from the world around you. I draw a lot from my hobby, kitesurfing. The interaction with wind and water allows me to recharge my batteries and enter a creative state of mind where my best ideas emerge.”

Global Tomato Conference 

“My first attendance at the GTC left a strong impression on me,” Michal says. “It was inspiring to meet numerous experts from the seed industry and affiliated businesses all in one place. However, I was somewhat surprised by the relatively low number of growers and retailers in attendance. I believe events like this play a crucial role in knowledge sharing and collaboration, ultimately contributing to our collective goal of helping growers address the challenges they face. But I see opportunities to enhance the value of a conference like this by expanding its scope and involving more retailers and growers.”

“I was impressed by the consistent quality of Hazera’s products on display and the positive reception they received,” Michal continues. “The combination of firmness, extended shelf life, visually appealing characteristics, and delightful taste make Hazera’s tomato varieties a compelling choice for both retailers and consumers.” Michal concludes with a final lesson learned from the GTC and advice for growers: “Striking a right balance between providing resistance to viruses and maintaining delicious taste  will enhance the overall desirability and marketability of the tomatoes produced, benefiting both producers and consumers.”

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The Growing Together international open days will take place in Israel on June 5-7. “It’s a unique opportunity to bring everybody together” says Veronica Derby, MarCom Manager at Hazera, and Haggai Breslauer, Sales Manager for Hazera Africa, who walk us through the event, sharing some exciting insights and highlights.

“It basically is the biggest event we held in recent years”, Veronica says about the Growing Together International open days. “It will bring over 85 customers, partners, and distributors of Hazera together, coming all the way to Israel from Africa, the Balkan region, the Americas, and the CIS-region. But there’s also a part for local Israeli growers”. According to Haggai, the goal is “to display our latest products, strengthen our bonds with clients and partners, and exchange knowledge and priorities between all parties involved. And of course: to have fun!”

What is the main purpose of the event?

Haggai emphasizes that, as the title ‘Growing Together’ suggests, the event will not be one-sided. “It is just as important for our clients to meet us, as it is for us to meet them. Our goal is to improve and grow together. This means not just explaining what we are doing, but also why and how.” To achieve this target, everybody must be looking in the same direction. Veronica: “By coming together we can connect, exchange knowledge about different products and markets, and align our priorities.”

Haggai says this transfer of knowledge is especially relevant for upcoming markets like Africa. “We see ourselves as having a responsibility in developing the agricultural market, not just to sell our products”. Another important goal to Haggai is for clients to meet the people behind the crops. “We want to bring our researchers forward. There’s two sides to that coin: On one side, our researchers can hear from clients first-hand what their needs are. And on the other side, we get to show our clients the hard work our teams deliver and what it takes to breed a good variety.”

What can visitors expect?

“We want our customers to get to know us, just as much as we want to get to know them, therefore we will start off with a few presentations on topics like our R&D and process innovations, ToBRFV-project, and production challenges. Then there’s the touristic part, in which we travel to Jerusalem and show everyone our beautiful country. “The third part is our field day, in which some groups visit a local nursery, a commercial union plot and our tomato greenhouse”, Haggai continues.

“And finally, on the last day of the event we will visit the main exhibition field where we display our products and come back to our Israeli HQ. This will include tours of our phytosanitary lab, our quality control germination and health labs,- as well as our in-house nursery”. For local growers, the Growing Together open days also form a great opportunity. Veronica: “For them, the event lasts 8 to 10 days, in which they can visit our development plot next to the exhibition where we present exciting new material that will soon be commercialized. However, from June 5-7 they have an extra nice opportunity, as they can be exposed to global activity.”

What excites you the most about the Open Days?

“To finally see all of our clients and partners face-to-face together again”, Haggai says. “It’s not often that we can get everybody from across the globe together for a professional event, for some clients it will even be the first time. So, this is a big deal for us. It gives us a chance to get everybody on the same page, strengthen relationships, share new products and developments, and learn from each other”. Haggai says he knows the visitors are very excited about the open days. “But believe me, so are we!”

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The drive for high-quality foods that contribute to a healthy lifestyle is stronger than ever. Vegetables are gaining a more prominent role in our diets. At the same time, events such as inflation, the energy and climate crisis and the pandemic have contributed to the strong urge to save money and energy. Even when preparing our meals. The result? Culinary creativity.

Preparing meals that are healthy for your lifestyle, the planet and your wallet: how do you do it? We take a look at the main trends.

#1 Vegetables in the lead role

Vegetables are increasingly becoming the main player in our meals. For some this means eating vegan or vegetarian, for others it means trying to cut back on their meat consumption. As a result, the demand for plant-based meals continues to grow.

Meals high in vegetables have a smaller carbon footprint and more nutrients, making them more cost-effective and sustainable. Moreover, this trend leads to culinary creativity: how do we create delicious meals around vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and cauliflower? Growers love to see their crops become the star of the show!

#2 Vegetables fulfill a high-protein diet

The increasingly conscious approach to our diet also affects what we consider to be “the best source for the protein” we need. Whether for environmental, animal or health reasons, the days when meat was seen as the main source of protein are over. Vegetables such as broccoli are seen as valuable alternatives.

#3 Waste is not on the menu

Perhaps the easiest way to reduce your food costs and footprint: use everything! Food waste is prominent on the agenda of consumers, as well as governments and NGOs. Did you know that according to the UN, about 30% of food produced for human consumption is wasted? This waste of food and money inspires chefs around the world to get creative in using every part of produce. From root to leaf. The more creative you get, the less will end up in the trash – and the more will be left in your wallet.

Contact us!

Clearly, in the quest for a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle, we need to get creative in the kitchen! At Hazera, we keep a close eye on developments in this field and provide our partners with the knowledge, advice and products needed to keep up. Wondering how we can support your business? Then contact us

Hazera was present at the AgroExpo 2023 on Crete, Greece, from 26-28 May. Dimitris Karanikolos, Financial Administration Manager and Marcom Business Partner for the Greek subsidiary, explains the importance of this event. “Since last November, the Crete area has seen an increase in problems with the ToBRFV-virus. That’s why we had two main goals at the exhibition: to introduce and promote our ToBRFV-resistant varieties, and to spread information and increase awareness amongst local growers.”

“By now, around the 30% of the tomato cultivation in Greece has been affected by ToBRFV”, says Dimitris, further highlighting the vital importance of a strong and efficient policy against the virus. A policy that includes tomato varieties that are strong both in fruit quality and resistance. To get the main message on ToBRFV varieties across at the exhibition, Hazera created three main pillars: A fancy booth to spread awareness and display the products, meetings with small teams of agronomists to spread knowledge and a special demo field where growers could see the ToBRFV resistant varieties in the field.

Providing the right tools

“It is very important for us to build a stronger relationship with growers, but also with local agronomists, because they go into many different greenhouses and support the cultivation”, Dimitris says. “We noticed that the agronomists were very happy both with the complete knowledge we provided and the products that we offered. Our tomatoes are very tasteful and cover all the needs and standards of the Greek market, and besides that they also have ToBRFV IR resistance. This, combined with the information and awareness we spread, gives both growers and agronomists the tools they need to create healthy products of great quality.”

Knowledge is key.

When asked about his highlights of the AgroExpo, Dimitris answers that he noticed visitors came to the Hazera booth with knowledge and a clear purpose. “They knew we had a descent solution to the ToBRFV-virus, which means we successfully created awareness and knowledge about the variety with our campaigns. Another highlight was the feedback we got from growers that had already tested our varieties and told us that they are tasteful with very good shelf life”.

Dimitris is very happy to hear that growers are very satisfied with the sellable products they can now produce again, as he knows this hasn’t always been the case since the virus hit. “The last 3 years we have seen a dramatic increase of ToBRFV inflation in many areas. This led to the growers changing their habits: they either stopped growing tomatoes or growing smaller quantities to spread production, alternatively replaced them with other crops. This led to a decrease in tomato production, whilst the demand increased. Especially from May to October, when our population nearly doubles due to tourism.”

Product innovator to market leader

“So, the need for ToBRFV resistant varieties was urgent”, Dimitris continues. “We knew our varieties had good resistance, but we needed to ensure that our plants delivered both quality and quantity of fruits. After testing on a small scale, we moved to larger trials all over Greece last year. And with success, as growers can now produce high quality tomatoes again that are sellable in our market. Our competitors had good varieties as well, but they weren’t suitable for the Greek market. Thus, we have the advantage of being the first to have that optimal balance between production and protection”. Because of this, Dimitris is very optimistic about staying market leader for at least the next year or two. “And we expect to have the seeds and added value to cover all the needs of the market.”

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In Hazera, we tend to put the spotlight on our successful products, yet their success starts with the People of Hazera: the truly committed and passionate experts who make it all happen on a daily basis. Meet Avi Gabai (65), our Production Research Manager from Herzliya, a city in central Israel. Avi spent more than three decades at Hazera in different roles, directly reflecting the progress and the growth Hazera has achieved during these years.

Avi has been with Hazera since 1990 in different roles in R&D and the Production departments, and from 2010 he has been managing the research in Production, improving the methods and tools of seed production, bringing innovation and solutions as continuous improvement processes. With his work, Avi helps the production teams improve their production performance for all of the Hazera crops.

“What is a common myth or preconception about your job or field of  expertise?”

“If you will ask the people of Hazera, they would say I’m only dealing with Onions” he says while grinning (which isn’t the case). “When I am talking with people outside Hazera, it always come to this one question: ‘What happened to the taste of tomatoes? Bring it back please’.” Apparently, it’s the most painful subject people relate to.

“In your opinion, what is the most important personality trait/strength someone would need to work in your industry/be successful in your job?”

“In my field at Hazera, I work in collaboration with different groups in production, and it became evident that the most important trait is the ability to ‘recruit’ people to join your cause, and together achieve the goal of improving the production process and consequently- the results. Getting them involved, making them feel this project is really theirs, and beyond. Continuous improvement is a team effort.”

“Tell us about a project you are really proud of and why”

“I am really proud of our joint activity in the start-up incubator with ‘South Up’. Together, we created an accelerator, enabling AG-Tech start-ups to receive help from us, in terms of mentoring, facilities and funds, and in return these start-ups are giving the benefit of new and innovative technologies we can embed into Hazera. Also, their culture of fast and agile work processes can contribute to our culture in Hazera. This is a win-win situation: Hazera can enforce its growth engines with the new technology and they can develop it into something that could be shared with the world and become commercial and profitable.”

“What book or movie you would recommend us and why?”

“Setting all politics aside, I want to recommend a book that I am reading now. It’s called “Who’s Michael?”,  written by Eliezer Shkedy, former chief commander of the Israeli Air Force, and former CEO of El Al. The book contains short stories from his past, showcasing his positive and humane approach to life. He tried to understand the other side above all, although he had some of the most demanding and stressing positions in the army- also true for him as a civilian. The way he followed and listened to his heart, thought about others and not just himself is really impressive and inspirational to me and I try to incorporate this attitude on a daily basis.”

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The vegetable seed company Hazera has a long history of growing cucumbers. Hazera contributed to the birth of improvements in cucumber genetics, especially in the minicucumber. While continuing these improvements, the company is also adopting other varieties, conquering new markets and exploring new marketing possibilities. A roundup of the latest developments with Hazera’s Global Cucurbit Product Manager, Mark van der Zouwen.

Cucumber comes in a wide range of varieties, from 10cm baby cucumbers for snacking to the famous 30cm cucumbers for non-heated or high-tech heated greenhouses, with mini cucumbers (also known as beit alpha), slicers, varieties for making pickles, as well as a wide variety of Asian varieties. Mark van der Zouwen tells us, “The Hazera story began with the mini cucumber, which is mainly grown in non-heated greenhouses in the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, Central Asia, as well as in the Americas. Today mini cucumbers are also grown in heated greenhouses in North America and Northern Europe. Currently, Hazera covers the entire range. Since the 1980s we have introduced many groundbreaking innovations; for example, significant improvements in fruit quality (uniform shape and colour), a drastic improvement in production, adaptability to different growing conditions and, more recently, long shelf life. In the early eighties we also began to specialize in the long variety for non-heated greenhouses, especially in the Mediterranean region. Here we introduced similar innovations, including extended shelf life (many will remember the Suprami variety), and recently created varieties with combined resistance to both powdery mildew and viral diseases such as CVYV and CYSDV.

In mini varieties, Hazera is currently among the top 3 cultivation companies in the world, with varieties very well adapted to the Mediterranean, Middle East and Central American markets, «Our market shares in mini varieties they are growing steadily, and we have expanded our cultivation activities, locating them in the very center of these regions. In addition to the highly successful varieties for spring-summer such as Bereket and Dennis, we are now launching new varieties also for the most stressful cold season as successors to Cohiba. A very interesting development is the midi cucumber for heated greenhouses like our Nikifor spring-autumn variety, which is giving high yields and high fruit quality, for example in Poland, where high-tech growers are using it.”, Mark said. Recently the Hazera crop has also been preparing strong business prospects with the baby cucumber, with 8-12cm fruits, which are rapidly gaining popularity in many markets where healthy snacks and convenience are seeing a real boom. The long variety is receiving a lot of attention once again, boosted by new cultivation activities in Spain. Here, Hazera recently launched the highly successful Batallón variety for Almería and the Granada region. Mark tells us, “This is a winter variety with excellent color, length and durability, and virus resistance. We are sure that the development in the cultivation of long cucumbers in Spain will have a positive consolidation in other regions with similar growing conditions, such as Greece, Mexico, Oceania and South Africa.”

One of the latest developments is activities to enter the Chinese market, for which Hazera has recently started cultivation activities. Mark tells us, “With our wealth of experience as a solid foundation, our ambition is to incorporate the needs and varieties for the Chinese market into our programs. If we want to establish ourselves as a global specialist, we must be present in this growing market, which is the largest in the world and very open to innovations. China’s cultivation and consumption are very different from those in other regions. Therefore, we must be very attentive and respect the needs and traditions of the Chinese, while offering innovation in our products.” What will the future look like in cucumber for Hazera? Mark replies, “We will extend our farming activities to all important regions for this global harvest. Our rich gene pool will be used to create a genetic diversity perfectly suited to the main production areas. Disease resistance, especially root and viral diseases, will be crucial, and could be a way to avoid costly grafting. We will adapt our varieties to high-yield cultivation techniques. And last but not least, we will develop products that meet the needs of the entire fresh produce chain. The objective is to search for possible innovations to convert bulk products into products that offer greater convenience and ensure greater added value for consumers. After all, they are the ones who consume the final product and for whom we work day after day.”