Sun World has a long history as a breeder of table grape varieties, tracing back to its predecessor Superior Farms and the Sugraone. What are Sun World’s more recent varietal releases across the colour spectrum?
David Marguleas: Sun World’s newest grapes that are garnering international attention are our late-season green seedless Autumncrisp and jumbo black Adora Seedless brand grapes. Autumncrisp brand grapes have a texture that is true to their name, and a sweet flavour profile with a hint of Muscat. Adora Seedless brand grapes are nicknamed the “two bite” grape because of their extra-large berry size, which is equally matched with big flavour.
Another grape Sun World has in the pipeline is our new red Sonera Seedless brand. This year, Sun World has seen a promising first crop of this red grape out of Coachella. Sonera Seedless has garnered a lot of interest because it develops a deep cherry-red colour naturally.
Also new out of Coachella are our Starletta Seedless brand black grapes, an early season grape with a deep black colour and a sweet, tropical flavour.
What are some of the attributes that Sun World looks to identify for a successful launch, both with respect to the consumer eating experience as well as cultural requirements?
DM: The development of a new grape variety can take more than seven years from the beginning of the cross breeding process to the grapes’ first commercial planting. Exceptional flavour, size, colour and shelf life are among the characteristics our researchers look for to provide shoppers with a top-quality eating experience. We also look for grower-friendly characteristics, including natural colour development, optimal seasonality and storage capabilities.
With regards to Sun World’s global licensing programmes for its proprietary varietals, where are your licensing programmes in place and what capabilities do you look for in a grower?
DM: Sun World’s proprietary grapes are grown in all the major grape growing regions around the world by more than 1,500 licensed growers. This international licensing network creates volume scale, as well as extended seasonality, and allows Sun World to provide key markets around the world access to our proprietary grapes virtually year-round.
Sun World looks for exceptional growers who are committed to adopting best production practices for our varieties, who respect our Intellectual Property rights, who are interested in learning from and sharing knowledge with Sun World and other Sun World producers and who seek to become part of the larger Sun World family.
Is there a requirement that the grower be vertically integrated as a marketer of table grapes as well? Does Sun World assess the compatibility of a proprietary to the growing conditions of a particular region?
DM: Potential Sun World growers are not required to be vertically integrated, though we do also seek commercial fruit marketing companies that have a diverse and strong client base, solid reputations amongst producers and a commitment to strengthening our year-round branded grape and stonefruit platforms. We conduct extensive trials in every growing region in order to determine the growing capability of each variety.
How many new table grape varietals can we expect to see introduced over the next few years from Sun World?
DM: Sun World has dozens of new variety selections that are currently being evaluated, some of which we anticipate releasing within the next few years.
