Nutrition has become a key selling point for Japanese consumers as well as for growers, who are looking for seeds with higher nutritional components, reports the Japan Times.
An official at Japanese seed supplier Takii & Co told the news site that seeds for functional vegetables, or vegetables with enhanced nutritional elements, were increasingly in demand, rather than the seeds with previously sought after attributes such as high-yield, flavour and shelf-life.
Takii supplies 13 varieties of functional vegetables under its Phyto Rich brand, including antioxidant-enhanced carrots, carotene-enhanced capsicums and anthocyanin-rich Japanese greens.
Recently, Dole Japan also launched a range of functional broccoli, with three times the antioxidants of regular broccoli.
A Dole official told the Japan Times that the company would expand its range of functional vegetables, with grape tomatoes already on the market, citing increased attention surrounding the enhanced foods, particularly from “health conscious elderly people.”
