At Hazera, building strong connections across the fresh produce chain is key to bringing great varieties from seed to shelf. As Market Development Manager – Fresh Chain at Hazera UK, I work closely with growers, importers, and retailers to ensure Hazera varieties deliver the quality, taste, and reliability that today’s market demands.
This particular week took me to Fruit Logistica in Berlin, one of the world’s most important fresh produce trade events. The event is unique because it brings retailers, growers, importers, and seed companies together in one place, creating opportunities for conversations that shape the future of the supply chain.
With the UK market spending £14.2 billion annually on fresh produce, and tomatoes ranking as the second most important category after apples, it’s a key opportunity to engage with partners and strengthen Hazera’s Fresh Chain projects. My main focus during the event was to connect key customers in the tomato and watermelon supply chains with members of Hazera’s international team, from colleagues supporting production regions to our global Fresh Chain experts.
Wednesday – Meetings, tastings and industry connections
My first full day at Fruit Logistica started early, preparing the Hazera meeting room with a selection of tomatoes and mini watermelons ready for customer discussions and tasting sessions.
The first meeting of the morning was with a major fruit importer supplying a leading UK retailer, ASDA. Together we evaluated Excelsior, a mini watermelon variety imported from Brazil. By cutting the fruit open during the meeting, we were able to assess the taste, sweetness (Brix), and internal quality together.
The feedback was extremely positive.
These meetings are very practical. We taste the fruit together, evaluate the quality, and discuss what retailers are looking for in the coming seasons.
Later meetings focused on high-tech tomato production and mini plum varieties, bringing together our UK customer, Thanet Earth and Hazera colleagues involved in tomato breeding and production programmes. Again, tastings and Brix testing were key to evaluating varieties for the UK market.
One of the most important meetings of the day was with representatives from Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer with around 30% market share. Their feedback is incredibly valuable when it comes to shaping future fresh produce offerings.
By the end of the day, I had participated in seven back-to-back business meetings, covering everything from tomato production to Fresh Chain projects and future variety introductions.
Thursday – Fresh Chain collaboration
The second day began with discussions with a major fresh food processor, Bakkavor who supply ready-to-eat salads and fresh-cut fruit to retailers.
We focused on mini plum tomatoes and watermelon varieties suitable for fresh-cut applications, where firmness, colour, and taste are critical to maintaining product quality.
Another important meeting brought together a premium UK retailer Marks & Spencer and one of its major tomato suppliers. Together with our colleagues from HM Clause, we evaluated several tomato varieties, including a promising red mini plum variety currently in development.
Being able to sit down together, taste the fruit, and discuss the breeding programme behind it really helps move projects forward.
Later that day we turned our attention to watermelon production projects in new growing regions, including Egypt and Serbia. Together with Hazera’s global watermelon product expertise, we discussed technical aspects such as planting density, pollination strategies, and crop management.
The goal is to develop new production regions closer to European markets, reducing transport distances and delivering fresher produce with a lower carbon footprint.
The day finished with meetings with one of the UK’s largest tomato producers, where we explored new varieties including yellow cherry tomatoes and mini plum types for future retail programmes.
Friday – An unexpected journey home
The final day didn’t go quite as planned.
Heavy winter weather caused major disruption at Berlin Airport, which eventually had to close. With flights cancelled and thousands of visitors stranded, we had to improvise.
In the end, the solution was a six-hour drive across Germany to Cologne, where I was eventually able to catch a flight back to the UK.
It definitely made the trip memorable.
A successful week for fresh chain
Despite the travel challenges, this was probably the most successful Fruit Logistica I’ve attended.
We held numerous meetings with retailers, growers, and importers, strengthening relationships and advancing several Fresh Chain projects.
One of the biggest milestones was meeting directly with major retailers—something that isn’t always easy to arrange at such a large international event.
For me, it shows that Hazera’s Fresh Chain approach is gaining real momentum. Retailers and producers increasingly want to work closely with seed companies to develop varieties that perform well across the entire supply chain.
With new partnerships forming and promising varieties under evaluation, the week highlighted how collaboration across the fresh produce industry helps deliver better quality, better taste, and better solutions for growers and consumers alike.
