Seminis’ Melon & Watermelon Week will have two special days on which a global event will take place
This year, during the first week of July (from the 1st to the 5th) Seminis will become a reference point for anyone who wishes to discover the latest developments in the world of melons and watermelons. And once again, they will repeat the successful formula that allows them to bring together the main producers and the most prominent supermarkets during its ‘Melon & Watermelon Week’.
But this time they have decided to take it a step further. “The saying goes that if ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ , but as with our produce, we firmly believe in innovation and in adapting all that we do to what the market and our customers demand,” Juan Francisco Martínez, Portfolio Marketing Manager in Iberia for melons and watermelons at Seminis affirms. “Therefore, we are also going to innovate with our event this year and we are going to carry out what the company calls an Ideas eXchange (iX) Event.”
This type of event, of which Seminis has only carried out three on a global scale, consists of incorporating a series of characteristics to a traditional event that make it offer more, better experiences to its participants.
Miguel Sánchez, head of Chain Relations at Seminis, explains that “in addition to maintaining the essence of our Melon Week with the format of meetings between the chains and producing companies throughout the entire week, on the 2nd and 3rd of July we are going to carry out a series of activities that I am sure will be a bonus that our participants will know how to appreciate. We will have an agenda with talks on post-harvest, packaging trends and new consumption formats, debates with representatives from the main European supermarkets and prominent producers from different sources…”
And there will be another development for this edition, which will be more international than ever before Martínez indicates: “Seminis has an unrivalled portfolio in Europe, therefore this year we wanted our colleagues from Italy, France and Morocco to accompany us. For the first time in all the editions, on the farm we will have planted the entire range of products from these four countries to see them in situ. And in a large marquee, like a fair, we will have a large stage for the talks and conferences and stands where each participant can show their products and inform those attending.”
In addition, the Seminis division from each country will bring producers and marketers from their respective territories. “We believe that if the aim of Melon Week is to connect the supermarkets with the producing companies, what better way than by extending the offer? The idea that along with our colleagues from Italy, France or Morocco, companies from their countries also come seems fantastic to us and adds extra value for those attending; more so at present, when supermarkets are attempting to supply 365 days a year”, Miguel Sánchez affirms.
And even more
But the surprises don’t end here. “What the company wants to do with this type of event is to encourage an exchange of knowledge and technology,” Juan Francisco comments. “Therefore, we also have different demonstrations and trials with external collaborators on field handling, water efficiency, newly applied technologies, sensorial test panels… and with the participation of the team from Bayer, showing applications of their products on the company’s melon portfolio.” It is worth mentioning that this will be the first edition that Seminis is carrying out its event under Bayer’s umbrella.
As a high point, they will have the presence of “a very well-known and popular national chef, who will prepare some dishes using our references that will highlight these fruits within our diet”.
