Saliplant opens the debate about the commitment to specialities with their own “stamp”
On June, Saliplant held its professional seminars ‘Brand Name Agriculture. Booming specialities’, with which the company repeats its commitment to a sector in which it has been present for 31 years. The Production Manager, Juan Antonio Hurtado, showed some figures regarding the progress made: 140 million plants in 2017 on 17 Hectares; over 3,500 active customers; an increase in the export of graft plants and it is the first Spanish seed company to become a member of GlobalGap. All of this “thanks to the farmers.” After his presentation, the successful cases of Fashion watermelon (Bayer and AGF Group), Monterosa (Semillas Fitó), Sweet Palermo (Rijk Zwaan), Kumato (Syngenta) and Tribelli (Enza Zaden) were revealed; and David del Pino, agrifood consultant and general manager of Freshtrategy, shed some light on what is a speciality and what isn’t.
Del Pino explained that “in 2004, 25.2% of consumers chose produce only in terms of the price. But the diversification of the public and the introduction of new niches with different tastes (lovers of local food, vegans, foodies…), extend the company’s possibilities.” Therefore, in the middle of the huge amount of varieties available on the shelves, brand names are used to differentiate and the agricultural sector must jump on this bandwagon.
All those present coincided in stating the need to look for fruit and vegetables that mark the difference, bringing a real value to consumers. Once this has been achieved, it is time to choose who will manage the brand name (the farmer, B2C or B2B), and to know how to communicate its properties on the correct channels. What is clear is that a product that is known and that has good quality will have a high profit margin. Do you want to be on the side of the specialities? Before replying, take into account that, as Crisanto Ampuero, Supply Chain Specialist at Bayer, points out: “If you have a brand name, you are playing in the Champions League.”
