The Greenery conquers Europe with Inspire strawberries

The Greenery continually focuses on innovation and variety development. With Inspire, a strawberry variety developed together with the American breeding company Plant Sciences Inc, The Greenery is setting a new standard for quality and taste in the market.

Winning product characteristics

Inspire strawberries are grown by a growing number of growers at The Greenery. They are not only enthusiastic about the winning product traits but also about the production performance. Jan van Meer (Meerfruit): "The Inspire strawberry provides a labor efficiency of more than 15% in my growing operation." Lilian (Kwekerij Rijnland) adds: "Inspire strawberries also have high disease tolerance. In addition, the variety has a consistent harvest pattern with exceptionally high picking performance. This is reflected in the very high percentage of Class I fruit (> 95%). In addition, it is also suitable for robotic harvesting." With high-quality growing techniques, growers ensure an optimal growing environment and consistent quality and taste of strawberries. The characteristics are recognized by growers and retailers which we see reflected in variety-specific requests from both chain parties.

Exclusive rights holder

The Greenery is, as it has been for the past 5 years, the exclusive rights holder for the production of the Inspire variety in Benelux in 2024. This means that all Inspire production from the Benelux will be sold through The Greenery in 2024. "We are delighted with the success of Inspire strawberries in Europe. This confirms not only our commitment to innovation, but also our ability to grow in a market-oriented manner where we continuously focus on the desired returns for our growers," said David Markowski (CEO, The Greenery).

Scaling up platform through collaboration with (greenhouse vegetable) growers

Due in part to increasing demand, The Greenery is scaling up the Inspire growing platform over the next few years. In addition to working closely with a selected number of plant breeders and propagators, The Greenery is looking for passionate growers. Klaas de Jager (agronomist, The Greenery): "In addition to strawberry growers, I also see many opportunities for greenhouse vegetable growers to fully or partially switch to growing Inspire strawberries. Greenhouse vegetable growers have the necessary experience and right capabilities in climate control within a greenhouse. With the arrival of the Inspire variety, the associated cultivation technique and labour profile, greenhouse vegetable growers can switch to strawberry cultivation relatively easier than before." 

The Greenery invites growers to join a trade organization committed to profitability, sustainability and innovation. With access to the European (retail) market, sales and distribution support and access to SIG&F, The Greenery offers commercial opportunities for their business. David Markowski: "We strongly believe in transparent collaboration with grower and retailer and the power of the collective. By partnering with passionate growers, we can not only increase the Inspire strawberry offering, but also contribute to the future sustainability of the growing companies."

Issue of sublicenses for Inspire strawberry cultivation

In addition to membership, The Greenery is now issuing sublicenses for the cultivation of Inspire strawberries. This allows third party growers to grow Inspire strawberries in the Benelux through a license fee model. Discussions are now underway with several growers and the first growers will take advantage of this option starting in 2024.  

Interest?

Growers interested in growing Inspire strawberries are invited to contact Klaas de Jager by phone:
+31 (0)6 53 84 24 02 or by e-mail: k.dejager@thegreenery.com. Or, drop by during the Strawberry Day on January 10 next in the Brabanthallen Den Bosch (The Netherlands). Register with Rob van der Weele (r.vanderweele@thegreenery.com) and receive a free ticket.

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