New varieties of melons are increasingly tailored to individual customers and their needs. That includes sweet varieties that appeal to children or other specific demographic groups, as well as more convenient sizes.
Personal watermelon
“The next generation of watermelons are going toward personal sizes,” said Moti Shmueli of Origene Seeds. “We're leading our offerings for North America and Europe with personal, mini and midi watermelons.” As a provider of seed varieties for water melon growers, Origene is keenly aware of what growers, retailers and, ultimately, consumers want from new varieties. While one of the demands is more manageable sizes, there is still a diverse set of requirements that requires seed producers come out with a diversity of watermelons.
“Things are getting so that you no longer buy by the kilogram,” said Moti.
But we still need many colors, like green, dark green, or a tiger pattern. It's no longer about consumers just taking something out of the bin and buying it.” That means seed developers need to look at the different consumer segments and engineer specially-tailored varieties that match those segment needs.
“It's a growing market for seedless watermelons, especially in Europe and North America,” said Moti. Origene Seeds is expecting great things out of diverse watermelons offering that are about 1.5-3.0 kilograms in size. They are high in sugar content, have a dark-red flesh as well as a firm, crunchy texture.
“We have also very diverse offerings,” he added. “There are standard sizes (6-8 Kg) and medium sizes, which are about four kilograms. There's yellow flesh and red flesh, and there's also seeded watermelons because most of the world outside of Europe and North America still eats mostly seeded watermelons.” While North America is a strong market for them, he added that they supply seeds to growers all over the world: Europe, Australia, Mediterranean & Middle East are markets that are growing very quickly.
Galia
Besides watermelons, Origene Seed also offers cantaloupe and Galia melons. In the Galia they have two leading varieties : Glory and Justin. “They have an excellent taste and long shelf life, which give growers the ability to market it on a longer distance in time and still in great shape.” Moti describes the fruit as perfect, round and with superior pulp texture. “Consumers prefer between 1-1.5 kg, which is the case for the Glory melon (Galia Type). Therefore the Glory is one of our leading products of offering.”
The company makes sure that they have professionals in the field to assist the growers in growing there products in a suitable way for their environment. “Each climate and location asks for various treatments in growing our products. Therefore we want to offer the best knowledge to our customers.”
