The vegetable seeds division of Bayer recently launched the Minigustos label, the world’s first brand for tasty, crunchy, and attractive snack vegetables. The first vegetable to be released under the Minigustos label are snack cucumbers. These are now available for purchase.
Chocolate, chips and cookies were top sellers in the snack industry for many years. Today, fresh vegetables have reached the top 3. In Europe, the vegetable snack market has grown from €30 million in 2012 to €70 million in 2015 whereas the sales of existing vegetables remained stable. Consumers and retailers are more willing to spend money on healthy and tasty ready-to-go fresh produce.
Minigustos is a new premium brand for tasty, attractive snack vegetables, the perfect ‘mini gustos’ (tasty mini’s). With Minigustos, Bayer focuses on generation X and millennials. These generations are known to exercise more, eat smarter and smoke less compared to previous generations. They use apps to track training data and go online to find the healthiest foods. And they are willing to spend money on compelling food brands.
First Minigustos vegetable: snack cucumbers
Retailers and consumers in Northern Europe, Canada and the US have been asking for a tasty and crunchy snack cucumber with a longer shelf life. Premium supermarkets haven’t been able to meet their customers’ demand for superior snack cucumbers. To fill that void Bayer has been developing the very crunchy snack cucumber, Minigustos. The Minigustos snack cucumbers are the result of years of research and cultivation by skilled breeders and growers. “Our trial growers and category managers of different retailers around the world tell us they have never tasted such a crunchy snack cucumber. Consumer panels confirm the good taste of our snack cucumbers: 71% of the consumers preferred our variety compared to those of competitors, 76% liked Minigustos appearance and 70% preferred its sweetness”, says Anne Jancic, Marketing Specialist Cucumbers at Bayer.
Currently, Spanish partners of Bayer are harvesting the first Minigustos snack cucumbers and they are offered to premium supermarkets in Northern Europe. And Minigustos cucumbers are going intercontinental. Bayer has already received market requests from customers in Canada, Australia, and China. The first trials have been initiated and contacts to potentials partners are being set up.
Furthermore, Bayer is exploring to expand the Minigustos brand to include other vegetables. The first steps are being made for colored snack carrots and cosberg snack lettuce. A test with colored carrots amongst Dutch consumers showed they found the carrots very attractive and exciting.
