They now have four. Rijk Zwaan has won the trust of Spanish consumers once again with its fourth award in the 2023 Flavour of the Year prizes. And at this edition it has reached another milestone, as it has won the hallmark for the complete range of colours of Sweet Palermo: red, yellow, chocolate and, as a new development, also in orange.
Javier García Rigol, Chain Specialist at Rijk Zwaan, underscores the importance of the award, because this stamp not only emphasises the quality of the produce in consumers’ eyes, but it also helps to continue differentiating and positioning the brand on the supermarket shelves. “It is an excellent sales tool for the companies that market Sweet Palermo.”
The conical extra-sweet pepper brand is already an icon, and it continues to enjoy consumers’ trust, as shown by its “positive sales evolution on the supermarket shelves.”
Atabal RZ against powdery mildew
In another segment, California peppers, Rijk Zwaan has launched a new variety to help the sector face up to one of the main problems regarding this crop: powdery mildew.
Its appearance causes significant reductions in production, forcing farmers to grub up their crops before time and it complicates the work of supplying the marketers.
In this context, the seed company has achieved top level protection against powdery mildew with Atabal RZ, the first in a range of varieties that offer the safety level required by farmers.
This red California pepper is focused on medium cycle (transplants mainly at the end of July) and it keeps powdery mildew in check, with a significant plant health and quality fruit, calibre G-GG over the crop cycle, as José Luis Ruipérez, a Pepper Specialist at Rijk Zwaan explained to Fruit Today.
Externally, its excellent colour, both in red and in green (it changes colour quickly) and its consistency on the plant, along with its post-harvest are all worth mentioning.
Sources at Rijk Zwaan emphasise that the variety is indicated for long cycles due to its important recovery capacity in the winter and due to the quality of the fruit it offers, without any problems of silvering, cracking or peaks.
