The fact that Sekoya's program contains some highly sought-after varieties was evident last Tuesday at the Sekoya Field & Forum open house in the Dutch town of Meterik. Licensees and buyers of the sector retail from several countries gathered at the Fall Creek facilities, where they visited the demonstration field that houses, among other varieties, the latest Mid Chill Sekoya Fiesta™ FC13-113 variety.

Upon returning to the nursery, Hans Liekens, Value Chain and Retail Manager, gave a presentation on the opportunities of the different varieties in the blueberry segment. «Even in a conservative category like potatoes, differentiation on shelves is achieved much better than in the blueberry category, although there is certainly no shortage of opportunities for it. After all, a soft blueberry is no good snacks, but yes as an ingredient in a Smoothie«.

With specific shelves for snacks, flavor lines, breakfasts, organic products and family packaging, Sekoya inspired attendees to address category segmentation. «Right now, most blueberries are consumed for breakfast, but the category of snacks "It's four times bigger," Liekens said. With the ella Livie range, Sekoya offers a selection of large, crunchy blueberries as a healthy alternative in the category on-the-go. Regarding the growth of the blueberry category, Liekens is not worried: "In three years, the turnover of the blueberry segment in the United Kingdom will already exceed that of bananas."

During the conference, Sekoya presented the Livie™ dispenser, a machine with a refrigeration unit, with which consumers can fill a glass of Sekoya blueberries. "Other varieties are too soft for this, or cannot be supplied in adequate volumes and with assured quality throughout the year," Liekens noted. The dispenser meets the recently announced European packaging standards, combats food waste and has a playful element.

The Sekoya blueberry dispenser.

Mark David, CEO of Sekoya, addressed the topic of the variety show. Last year, Sekoya varieties were planted by all 15 member companies (NorthBay Produce, Alpine Fresh, SanLucar, Surexport/RK Growers, abbGrowers, Joy Wing Mau, Fresh Produce Group, Core, Zur Group, Prize, Agrovision, Agroberries/Berryfresh , Berries Paradise, Rainier Fruit and Mastronardi) in 25 countries on a total area of ​​2.500 hectares and a harvest volume of 36.600 tons. About 40% of Sekoya blueberries are sold in the US, 36% in the European market and 24% in Asia.

According to the IBO Industry Report, total blueberry production is estimated at 2.400 billion kilos by 2024, of which approximately 70% (1.700 billion kilos) is destined for the fresh segment. In five years, the fresh segment is expected to have grown to 2.500 billion kilos. David indicated that, according to the latest forecast for the 2024/25 season, production will be 38% higher than that of the 2023/23 season, when the impact of El Niño on the Peruvian crop was enormous, and 8% higher than that of the 2022/23 season.

abbGrowers' Fred Douven and IPL's Barrie Jones.

Next, Estefanía Rodríguez Arquero, responsible for quality and sustainability, gave a tour of the Mid & High Chill varieties in the different European producing countries, and Harry Hall (Hall Hunter), Carlo Lingua (RK Growers) and George Miclos (Agricrafters) They presented the current situation of blueberry cultivation in their respective production regions.

Labor remains a hot topic in blueberry farming. Lingua, CEO of RK Growers, said Sekoya, with its distinctive varieties, is the only solution in this regard. For Miclos, blueberry cultivation is relatively new: this Romanian ran a with  and looking for something that would fill the quiet summer months with activity, he went from with  to agriculture.

The final guest speaker was Professor Aedín Cassidy, from Queen's University Belfast, who spoke about the health benefits of anthocyanins in blueberries. Cassidy commented that a glass of blueberries three times a week reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 26% and lowers blood pressure with the same effectiveness as hypotensive drugs. For men who do not have these problems, there was another comforting message, since the consumption of blueberries could also stimulate an erection...

Stefan Spanjaard, from Agrovision, and Felipe Silva, from Zur Group.