The vivid array of new fresh produce on the market, from year-round lettuce and high-vitamin peppers to boutique tomatoes and fun-size cucumbers, is the fruit of a seed-breeding lottery. The drive for consumers to eat more fruit and vegetables - and the push to try something new - has started to open doors for the sector. But the hunt for a winning variety that meets the often incompatible needs of the grower, supplier, retailer and consumer, presents a host of challenges.
The main aims of the seed breeder will always be to respond to the trends of the target market, according to Iain Dykes at the British Potato Council (BPC). “But anyone who targets one characteristic risks losing out on others,” he says. “Any weakness can be a fatal one in the potato industry.
“Tens or hundreds of thousands of crosses make up the very first stage of the seed-breeding process but, out of this number, breeders will find only one or two that work,” he adds.
The underlying problem facing the sector is that many of the desired traits work against each other, says Eran Shafrir at Israeli firm Hazera Genetics. “One sample could have a great taste but no resistance, another might have limited resistance but poor colour,” he explains. This means that seed breeders are often forced to reach a compromise on characteristics, adds Vincent van Wolferen at Netherlands-based seed breeder Rijk Zwaan. “A variety with an excellent yield, but a very bad taste will not sell,” he says. “The same goes for a variety with all the resistances without a profitable yield. So, we are not always looking for the highest score for each item, but the best average on all items.”
The attention to consumer needs is at an all-time high, says Shafrir. “The importance of consumer requirements will continue to increase. Ten years ago there was no such concept,” he says. “UK consumers have very high standards when it comes to appearance and taste,” he adds.
The consumer angle has heightened the importance of flavour and nutrition for much of the industry, says Robin Wood at UK-based firm Elsoms Seeds. But the emphasis on taste is considered alongside other traits, he emphasises. “Today in our Brussels sprouts breeding programme attributes such as yield, disease resistance and taste are equally important,” he says, adding that taste is subjective.
New consumer trends have made an impact on the seed-breeding sector in recent years. The increased popularity of premium ranges, which came to the fore of consumer consciousness last year, has created another avenue for the seed breeder, says Alan Cresswell at Enza Zaden. “The rise of premium products will continue to raise standards as this year’s new premium variety will soon become a standard line and expectations get raised a step higher,” adds Sharon MacGregor at Dutch breeder De Ruiter Seeds. “But the search for premium varieties is like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Wood admits.
The mounting consumer concern about the provenance of fresh produce and how it is produced could boost potential in the market for organic seed, says Wood. Elsoms Seeds has a substantial portfolio of organic seeds featuring 110 varieties, with some products, such as the Miami carrot, sold exclusively as an organic line. “This is a bold initiative and, although the organic lines make a small part of the total turnover, there is potential,” Wood adds.
Traits that enable fruit and vegetables to be produced year-round in the UK have also gained in popularity, says Cresswell. UK-based grower and retailer Booths foresaw consumer concern about food miles almost 10 years ago and worked with Enza Zaden to produce a lettuce that could be grown economically throughout the winter months to reduce the need for imports. The Winter Gem - a 120-150 gramme Romaine lettuce launched commercially in autumn 2006 amid a surge in the emphasis on local produce - was specifically bred to extend the UK season. Sales of the Winter Gem exceeded all expectations, according to Enza Zaden.
“The development of products that can be grown economically in the winter months, yet still look and taste the same as product grown overseas, will give UK growers the edge over importers,” Cresswell says. The save on artificial heat and light, high plant density and harvest index and the limitation of disease are key benefits for vegetable growers, while supermarkets gain from shorter food mileage, increased traceability and competitive price, he explains. The consumer gets a fresh product and the satisfaction of buying British, he adds.
The drive for innovation is a defining element of the seed-breeding sector. “Trying to find a point of difference is a big aim, always. Supermarkets are always looking for something new,” says Cresswell. “The first question we are always asked is what we can offer that is “new, unusual and exciting,” adds MacGregor.
The need for a specific point of difference is paramount, says Dykes. “Niche varieties are very popular in the potato industry at the moment, and both retailers and consumers are looking for products that have special characteristics, something that has a clear point of difference,” he says. “This has given seed breeders the opportunity to push new varieties that were not around before.”
But the search for something new is not the most challenging part of the process, adds Van Wolferen. “It is very easy to find points of difference and we develop products that are different to what the consumer is used to on a daily basis. But the difficulty is how best to market them. UK consumers are cautious about accepting new products.”
The space on the market for brand-new products is limited, according to Dykes. He says existing potato varieties, Maris Piper in particular, are so popular across the board that breeders will find it a challenge to offer new or improved products to the mainstream potato market. “It is quite difficult to bring in a new variety that does well because the old varieties are still dominant,” he explains. “The improvements have become a lot more incremental. Any improvements will be very small,” he adds.
But the seed-breeding sector is a thriving industry and a host of new products will be launched in 2007. The Hazera Lifestyle range, which includes vitamin-enriched peppers and high-lycopene tomatoes as part of its health-conscious Vitalis products, a line of tomatoes for its premium Boutique collection and mini peppers as a To Go option, will be launched in February at Berlin-based trade show Fruit Logistica. De Ruiter Seeds has recently introduced the yellow Kelly pepper, designed to have a good yield and size, the mildew-tolerant cucumber, Shakira, and the Orange Beauty melon, which has consistently high brix levels. Trials for a mildew-resistant bulb onion and hybrid Chantenay carrots bred for uniformity will be carried out by Elsoms Seeds among a host of other projects this year.
The seed breeder must focus on the changing needs of the market to identify, as well as predict, areas for improvement, says Van Wolferen. “The best new developments solve problems, so it is crucial to have a good view on chain problems, and identify the root of the problem,” he says. “But the most successful innovations are products that are a solution to unknown problems.”
Douglas Harley at Cygnet PB, a leading British seed potato breeder, says the UK potato market is very unpredictable. “Who would have predicted that 12 years ago, CIPC residues, black dot resistance, skin finish and baker content would be requirements for a successful fresh market product?” he asks.
The majority of market information used to develop products comes from close co-operation with marketing companies, says Cresswell. But only limited progress will come from the analysis of statistics and data, according to Shafrir. “The use of data and statistics is not really relevant to the breeding process. The trends come before the numbers,” he explains.
The collection of data based on the population is central to predicting future market needs, according to Wood. “The analysis of statistics helps to find trends. The number of people per household in the UK is less and less, for instance, and this will dictate factors such as portion size,” he says.
UK trends often set precedents for markets overseas so home statistics are used to predict needs in Europe and other parts of the world, Wood adds.
The market research process is complicated by the fact that products intended for the UK market must be bred to suit growing conditions overseas, says Shafrir. “Not all the fruit and vegetables consumed in the UK are produced in the UK, and this complicates the breeding process, as the products must suit both growing conditions overseas and match the requirements generated in the UK, both of which are changeable,” he says.
Shafrir stresses that the identification of global trends is essential. “The tendency to reduce labour costs by moving production countries in which labour costs less, which is happening all over the world, will make an impact on the seed-breeding industry,” he says.
The lengthy time-span needed for product development means the market must be monitored for a long period. “The truth is that, if you pick up an idea today, it can be 12-14 years before it is available commercially, and up to four to five years before you will even have a product worth looking at,” says Cresswell. “But there is no guarantee that you can make money from it.”
Dykes adds that the lag between the start of breeding programmes and the appearance of the end product on the market could open a gap between the initial concept and the changing needs of the market. “When you start a breeding programme, you are working with new information. But by the time you are able to get something to the market, that research is a few years old, and perhaps no longer applies,” he says.
The BPC is helping to fund a project that could reduce the seed-breeding timeline by up to five years by mapping the potato genome, according to Dykes. “This should also reduce the risk that a winner is thrown away at an early stage as you should be able to select which of the crosses will work,” he says.
The length of time needed for the development of new products could be shortened by the introduction of genetic modification into the fresh produce sector. Attitudes towards GM usage appeared to change in 2006, according to Shafrir, and he predicts that the introduction of GM into the fresh produce sector may happen sooner than would have been anticipated five years ago. But there is a long future for products that are bred in the traditional way, he adds. “Science is complementary to nature, rather than a replacement,” he says. “We take the most advanced biological tools in order to assist, and not replace, conventional breeding.”
Dykes adds that one of biggest obstacles to GM is the lack of public support. “We support the advancement of science, but we are concerned about the public perception of GM products at a time when we are all trying to promote the consumption of home-grown fresh produce,” he says.
The race to introduce the most innovative products to the market has also given rise to the theft of concepts and the practice of copying competitors. “Ideas are always open to being copied or pinched, it is the same in any industry, and it is an ongoing problem for seed breeders,” says Cresswell. “But this is why it is important for seed breeders to be able to identify their own genetics,” he adds.
Dykes says good systems are in place to safeguard new ideas and products in the UK potato industry. “But the concern is for when we export to countries where control is not as tight as it is in the UK. This is one of the biggest considerations for seed breeders looking to enter the Chinese market,” he adds.
But staying one step ahead of the market will allow the seed breeder to move on quickly if ideas and products are copied, says Shafrir. “You must always move forward because it is only a matter of time before the same product is on offer elsewhere,” he says.
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