Seeds of Innovation in Fresh Produce

The path to creating a new piece of produce is a process that begins with plant breeders and ends with the consumer.

There was a time, not that long ago, when an apple meant Red Delicious; a tomato, a field-grown red; and a potato, a russet. No longer.

Today, shoppers have a buffet of choices regarding variety in almost every fruit and vegetable category in the produce department. Why? There’s a register-ringing appeal for that “something new.”

More than half (53%) of Americans consider themselves adventurous eaters, according to a 2023 survey by OnePoll, a market research firm with U.S. offices in New York and San Diego. What’s more, and in a boost for retail, more than half (54%) of survey respondents said they prefer to try new foods at home, based on the June 2024 Consumer Curiosity Report by Minneapolis, MN-headquartered agricultural marketing and communications company, Curious Plot.

“Innovation is crucial in keeping our produce departments dynamic. This can involve new flavors, extended shelf life, improved nutritional profiles, and the ability to withstand climate change,” says Chris Harris, category director of produce and floral for New Seasons Market, a 21-store chain headquartered in Portland, OR.

“Innovation is crucial in keeping our produce departments dynamic.”
— Chris Harris, New Seasons Market, Portland, OR

“Novel varieties can reinvigorate interest in a category and attract curious customers,” Harris adds. “Ensuring a consistent supply and quality for these innovations will be key to maintaining sales momentum and growing future consumption.”

AN IDEA TAKES ROOT

The biggest challenge in breeding fruits and vegetables is anticipating the different needs of the market, which is evolving quickly under multiple factors like climate change, emerging plant pathogens, and labor shortages, according to Bruno Foncelle, head of vegetable seed development for the Americas for Syngenta Vegetable Seeds, Woodland, CA.

“As breeders, it’s critical that we consider diverse needs across the value chain, from growers to processors and distributors to retailers and consumers. Thankfully, technology enables us to accelerate and provide better products to industry and consumers. But the challenge still exists to develop high-performing varieties across multiple traits that can perform in different environmental and crop management conditions,” says Foncelle.

Two paths to a new SKU on the shelf are an improvement of an existing fruit or vegetable or creating a new piece of produce, says Zak Laffite, president of Wonderful Citrus, headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. “We’ve taken the new and improved approach with our seedless lemons. Lemons already exist. Now, we just make them seedless.”

Or, Laffite explains, “you can take a very big leap forward,” pointing to the Dekopon as a citrus example. “Before that, there wasn’t an orange size mandarin that peeled easily.”

“The challenge is that the more you deviate from the norm, the more risk you take that the consumer won’t be drawn to it,” he says. “Add to that it takes us five years to get to a point when we find a variety to when we could potentially plant a tree. Then, it takes that tree five years to enter production. So now you’re talking about a 10-year window from the moment you find something that screams ‘wow, this will drive excitement.’”

Other forces lead to innovation, too. For example, there is a need for disease resistance in lettuce. New impulse-grabbing hues of berries and cabbage. Extra nutrients in tomatoes for at-risk populations. Climate-specific hearty greens like radicchio that can grow year-round in the Pacific Northwest. Flesh in apples that don’t brown when cut, and extra crunchy and juicy grapes.

Sometimes, there are accidents. For instance, the chance breeding of high flavor, yet heatless, peppers.

SATISFYING EVERYONE

From seed to SKU to supper table is a process that begins with plant breeders, then moves to growers, retailers, chefs, and finally to the consumer. It’s a sequence where all segments don’t necessarily interact simultaneously.

“The seed industry’s customer is the grower. That’s who decides whether to buy a particular type of seed and grow it or not. Therefore, breeders must first satisfy the grower and the targets the grower sets,” says Carl Jones, Ph.D., the Davis, CA-based plant sciences director at the Mars Advanced Research Institute, a division of Mars Inc., in McLean, VA. “Then, there are two different types of genetics, depending on whether something is grown in dirt or hydroponically.”

Syngenta sells thousands of varieties tailored to different regions or countries worldwide, says Foncelle. “To develop these varieties, we have breeding teams and trialing farms or greenhouses in every key growing region. We are also doing trials on growers’ farms to test our varieties in different environments and under different crop management conditions, while also doing post-harvest testing and consumer panels to assess how these products are performing later in the chain.”

He says this allows them to identify the best varieties suited for specific markets, and offer the right profile of characteristics that growers, retailers, and consumers seek. “We must be listening to feedback from growers, while at the same time keeping an eye on cultural shifts that might impact the types of vegetables consumers are interested in.”

Harris at New Seasons Market looks for several traits when considering new items from growers and breeders.

“Flavor is first. The item must have an excellent taste profile that stands out,” Harris says. “Then freshness. A longer shelf-life without sacrificing freshness appeals to both us and our customers. We prioritize sustainability or items sourced from growers who utilize sustainable farming practices, such as organic and regenerative. Finally, local. Items connected to local agriculture and economy are more attractive.”

FEEDBACK IS CRUCIAL

Traits desired by retailers and consumers also depend on the fruit or vegetable.

“Retailers can have an enormous influence on growers. For example, if Walmart’s specs are for 2- to 2.5-pound pumpkins, that’s what a grower must supply, or they won’t have the sale,” says Bill McCarthy, the Woodland, CA-based research director at Sakata Seed America Inc. “For watermelon, sweetness is important to consumers, as is the firmness of the flesh and shade of red. If the melon they buy at the supermarket doesn’t deliver on these traits, they may not repurchase it.”

Sun World maintains strong relationships with its retail partners, says Elena Hernandez, director of global marketing insights for Sun World International LLC, headquartered in Bakersfield, CA, and one of the world’s largest plant variety breeders and global licensors of fruits like grapes. “We prioritize regular feedback to understand their needs — whether it’s color, flavor or availability window. This ongoing dialogue helps us tailor our breeding efforts to better meet market demands.”

Then again, not all consumers agree on what they like in a piece of fruit. Take apples, for instance, says Kate Evans, professor of the Pome Fruit Breeding and Genomics program at Washington State University’s Wenatchee Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, and creator of the Cosmic Crisp variety.

“Consumers have diverse expectations regarding taste, sweetness, texture, juiciness and color. Other elements consumers are interested in are food waste and sustainable production. That’s what makes my job fun.”

Chefs are a crucial part of the breeding trait equation. In September, Vegetables by Bayer, based in St. Louis, MO, created its Culinary Council, composed of a diverse group of chefs, culinarians and innovators. This new council is designed as a dynamic platform for idea exchange and collaboration to influence the company’s future fruit and vegetable breeding.

Everyone on the seed-to-supper continuum congregates at the annual Variety Showcases hosted by the Culinary Breeding Network in Portland, OR. The network was founded in 2012 by Lane Sellman, assistant professor in Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Department of Horticulture, in Corvallis, OR.

“The events we host are designed to increase communication and collaboration between plant breeders, seed growers, fresh market vegetable farmers, produce buyers, and chefs to improve quality and consumption,” says Sellman.

At one of these events, Josh Alsberg, owner and founder of Portland, OR-based Rubinette Produce Market and a 2023 IFPA Retail Produce Manager Award winner, discovered several varieties of locally grown radicchio, and the store now offers eight varieties.

“There’s Castelfranco, which is green, but has all these red speckles; Luisa, which is similar looking; and Rosa del Veneto, which is bright pink,” Alsberg says. “These are not just beautiful, but tasty. We dedicate one 10- to 12-foot-long shelf to radicchio. It pulls people in to see what we have.”

WHAT’S NEW

Innovations in fruit and vegetable breeding may be invisible to the retailer and consumer.

“I’ve brought well over 50 commercial varieties of peppers to market during my career,” says Sakata Seeds America’s McCarthy. “Why the number? There are assorted colors, sizes and shapes. Seeds that grow in the open field in the Northeast differ from what will grow in the Southeast, Mexico or California.”

“Then you have all the indoor varieties. The collective result is peppers with great flavor and available 365 days a year.”

One of McCarthy’s pepper varieties has risen to a trademarked name, the BellaFina, grown by Bailey Farms Inc., in Oxford, NC, and for sale in retailers such as Publix Supermarkets.

Two other new pepper varieties, the Nada Hotta and Mild Thing, were bred for commercial production at Oregon State University when a mild habanero variety was accidentally crossed during a pepper variety trial. The focus on these is flavor over heat.

Three recent examples of significant innovation include apples, citrus and tomatoes, according to New Seasons Markets’ Harris. “The apple category has seen substantial breeding efforts, resulting in varieties like Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Cosmic Crisp and Ambrosia. These newer varieties are prized for their flavor, texture and storage properties.”

Harris says the citrus family has also been a “hotbed of innovation,” with hybrids like the Tangelo (a cross between a tangerine and a pomelo/grapefruit) and the Oro Blanco (a grapefruit and pomelo cross). Blood oranges and Cara Cara navels are also popular for their distinctive flavors and colors.

Tomatoes are constantly being bred for flavor, size, and resistance to disease, Harris adds. “Heirloom varieties have surged in popularity, but newer hybrids like the grape and cherry tomatoes are also tailored for snacking.”

A yellow flesh oblong-shaped tomato, dubbed the “yellow submarine” by its fans, will come to market this year. It was developed by Phillip Griffiths, associate professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.
Griffiths has also bred a Rose Cabbage, a hybrid of green and red varieties.

“Chefs find the Rose held up better in cooking than green varieties, but isn’t as tough as red varieties,” says Griffiths.

BREEDING FOR TOMORROW

There is constant innovation in salad greens, including new lettuce, kale, and spinach varieties that offer different textures, colors and nutritional benefits.

“Stampede is a variety of romaine lettuce that we introduced in the market very quickly after the outbreak in California of Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV), which is a plant virus transmitted by an insect (thrips). Growers were seeing substantial crop loss, but we provided them a solution to produce lettuce romaine under the pressure of this new emerging pathogen,” says Syngenta’s Foncelle.

Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries have experienced significant breeding for improved sweetness, size, color and extended growing seasons. There are also hybrid berries such as the “Straspberry,” a cross between a strawberry and raspberry.

In September, Courtney Weber, professor and chair in the School of Integrative Plant Science, in the Cornell AgriTech division at Cornell University in Geneva, NY, released two new red raspberry varieties named Crimson Beauty, a late bearing large berry with strong raspberry flavor, and Crimson Blush, bred for high tunnel production.

“In the future, we’ll see more color in berries, such as apricot raspberries and burgundy strawberries,” says Weber.

For table grapes, one of Sun World’s new launches is marketed under the Ruby Rush brand, early red grapes that are juicy and crunchy.

“Each year, we work through tens of thousands of seedlings, yet only a few are selected for further testing and advancement,” says Jen Sanchez, vice president of marketing for Sun World.

“The Sugrafiftythree variety in the Ruby Rush brand underwent several years of testing and evaluation at our Center for Innovation in Wasco, CA,” she says. “During this period, we conducted preference tests with consumers and growers, and more technical evaluations with our growers. After the advanced research phase, consumers may start seeing some initial fruit produced by U.S. growers on the retail shelf.

“In other countries, the variety goes through additional years of testing to ensure it performs well in each specific region before it can be planted on a larger commercial scale. It’s also worth noting that in some regions, testing is delayed by a two-year quarantine period. Overall, it can take 10–15 years for a variety to become globally available,” she says.

Introducing customers to novel produce items involves several strategies, like in-store tasting demos, informational signage, promotional pricing and digital engagement, including email and social media campaigns, says New Seasons Market’s Harris. “We might highlight the new product in our weekly newsletter, and offering attractive visuals and cooking tips can also drive interest.”