Dutch seed breeder Enza Zaden scooped Fruit Logistica’s prestigious Innovation Award for its Sweetgreen pepper at last week’s event in Berlin.
Voted for by fellow industry members, the Sweetgreen pepper was selected for its high vitamin C content and the longevity of its green colouring throughout the ripening process.
Enza Zaden marketing project manager Chris Groot said: “We are extremely proud that we are winners - last year we were in second place and I think it’s a compliment to our innovative drive and our breeders, who have worked for 20 years to develop this pepper. It’s an amazing honour.
Groot told FPJ: “We started trialling [the pepper] in northern Europe and learnt that you need to work as a team with the whole supply chain to make something like this work. Everyone has to believe in the product, from the grower to the retailer. You cannot do it alone in this business anymore; you have to make strong partnerships.”
Grower Robert Solleveld told FPJ: “We grow the varieties for a year to see how they grow and I’ve been very pleased with these peppers, but it’s nice to be recognised.”
The show’s other big winner was the School Apple Project, which claimed the Jury’s Award as the organisers broke with convention to create a special prize in recognition of the scheme.
Sponsored by the Association for the Promotion of Organic Fruit from the Altes Land Region of Germany, the School Apple Project also took second place in the main Innovation Award competition.
The project works to promote fresh apples in German schools, providing an apple a day funded by parents.
Third place went to Italian company TR Turoni for its portable DA-Meter ripeness tester.
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