Flavor, Color And Health Are Driving The Vegetable Seed Industry

Each vegetable seed company has its own priorities when it comes to the characteristics of its products. However, some of those priorities overlap and become general trends within the industry. According to a handful of companies, three such industry trends right now are flavor, color and health.

Recent reports about the health benefits of cabbage have increased overall consumption, especially in the sauerkraut market, according to Don Reed, owner of Reed’s Seeds in Cortland, N.Y. His company focuses on cabbage. Other characteristics the company looks for besides healthfulness include insect and disease resistance. On the sales side, there’s been more of an emphasis on pre-packaged cabbage lately, to the detriment of table stock sales, he said.

Niche markets seem to be paying the bills for Osborne International Seed Company in Mount Vernon, Wash. The company works with small- and medium-size growers who don’t profit much from commodity crops. It’s all about niche items, said owner Christel Osborne.

“‘Baby’ is in these days,” she said.

Baby vegetables, baby lettuce mixes, specialty eggplant, braising mixes – anything small or out of the ordinary is popular right now. There’s been a tremendous increase in demand for organic seed, Osborne said.

The increasing sophistication of consumers has led to an important shift in the industry. Shelf life and transportability have always been important characteristics in vegetable, but that’s been surpassed lately by taste, color and nutritional value.

“I’ve driven behind tomato trucks in California,” she said. “I’ve watched tomatoes fall off and not split because they’re hard as a rock.”

When Osborne first started in the seed business, iceberg lettuce was the most widely grown variety. It had good shelf life, but absolutely no taste, she said. Since then, tastier varieties have overtaken it, including romaine lettuce in California. The same goes with imperator carrots being replaced by newer varieties. Chefs don’t want wooden produce anymore, and produce buyers are finally catching on, Osborne said.

Color also is driving the industry. Osborne’s company carries regular orange carrot seed, but also purple, white, pinkish, yellow and rainbow. Ornamental gourds and corn also are popular.

Joe Butwin, U.S. sales manager for Sakata Seed Corporation, sees three trends: taste, size and color.

“We’ve long been a promoter of varieties that taste good,” he said. “It does matter to the consumer.”