MONHEIM, GERMANY - With warmer weather on the horizon and spring just around the corner, Bayer is introducing new insights and melons varieties to address the changing needs of the grower and consumer.
I spoke with Enrique Rodriguez, Product Specialist Melon, and Matt Deceault, Produce Chain Specialist Melon about the latest and greatest with Bayer, and what we can expect as the spring gets underway.
“In 2016 we are experiencing a turning point in the melon industry with our Golden Cantaloupe, bringing friendly, high-yielding varieties to the grower and attractive and taste satisfying flesh to the consumer,” Enrique, tells me. “Also we are introducing a new honeydew line with Crispy Pear, a beautiful yellow smooth skin, that makes high concentrated set, giving the grower the opportunity to harvest all the yield in one or two pickings, due to its unique field holding ability.”
This melon has a firm and incredible white crisp flesh giving a pear-like eating experience and an exceptional flavor. Crispy Pear has many beneficial traits, but, if Bayer could only highlight a few, the team tells me that growers will get a high-concentrated set and “cookie-cutter” like uniformity, whereas the consumer gets the unique crunchy pear like white flesh and its exceptional flavor. The variety is also eye-catching on shelf with a deep yellow color and smooth skin. Pure white on the inside, many consumers have commented on its crispy/crunchy textured flesh, the team says. For flavor, the customers tell Bayer, Crispy Pear tastes similar to cotton candy.
“It is unlike anything else on the market today. This melon is a game-changer in the yellow category, which has been growing leaps and bounds in recent years,” Matt adds. “Feedback on the Crispy Pear has been phenomenal. We expect some retail distribution this year and believe consumers will react positively making this melon a category mainstay for years to come.”
In terms of the Golden melons, the grower will appreciate the strong plant, the high-yield potential and the clear harvest indication while the consumer will be pleased by the attractive golden color skin, unique magenta flesh and the intense flavor.
“Our Golden Cantaloupe line is one of the best on the market today. As part of our extended shelf-life cantaloupe line, the skin of the Golden Cantaloupe turns a golden straw color when ripe letting consumers know it is ready to eat and will be flavorful,” Matt tells me. “This takes the guesswork out of trying to pick the perfect melon. Our Golden Cantaloupes also have the darkest magenta-colored flesh on the market and more usable flesh due to a tight and closed cavity. Most importantly, these cantaloupes do not disappoint in the flavor department. They are sweet with the right balance of flavor volatiles leaving consumers wanting more.”
As Bayer makes its way through 2016, the company is moving forward to strengthen its position in the melon business with improvements demanded by the market.
“Our vision is to consolidate that position, in order to become the main support for the melon industry, from the grower up to the consumer,” Enrique says. “We have a very strong breeding program supporting the continuity, and constant improvement, of these two melon lines.”
The team is also very excited about the development of traits that will help growers to gain returns and consumers to be very satisfied and willing to repeat the eating experience.
When I ask Matt what some of the common misconceptions are when it comes to the melon category, he tells me that consumers are under the impression that it impossible to get a consistently great tasting cantaloupe and honeydew year-round.
“That is simply not true,” Matt tells me. “At BVS, we pride ourselves on developing high-quality melons that deliver the flavor under all growing conditions. We believe the Golden Cantaloupes and Crispy Pear melons are great examples of this. We are working to get these melons from the field to the consumer because we believe delivering fantastic flavor will drive consumption year-round. At BVS, we are continuously improving our melon varietals putting flavor squarely in the sights.”
Bayer has a strong team focused on the whole melon industry, on each and every level of the supply chain, gathering information about industry trends from everywhere around the globe in order to immediately transmit it to the company’s breeding department to stay ahead of the upcoming changes.
