Less waste with smaller legumes

Smaller households need smaller vegetables in order to waste less food. The demand for organic and unpackaged vegetables is also growing. This study by The Greenery, a fruit and vegetable distributor, and Rijk Zwaan, a vegetable breeding company, shows that the demand for organic and unpackaged vegetables is growing. These consumer needs have been elaborated in a retail concept with a smaller vegetable size for pointed cabbage, cabbage lettuce and broccoli, among other things. A pilot was recently launched to sell this vegetable in the newly opened Jumbo Food Market in Leidschendam.

Chain project focuses on less waste with smaller vegetables

Consumer research conducted by The Greenery and Rijk Zwaan shows that smaller vegetables can be a way of wasting less. Both companies have taken up the challenge and are now marketing a range of around 20 smaller vegetables, including pointed cabbage, broccoli and lettuce, as a pilot project. This vegetable not only has a smaller size than the standard version, but is also available in organic and unpackaged form. This new vegetable concept is called 'Little & Fresh'. The pilot is expected to expand rapidly.

Small vegetable varieties

For a number of years now, vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan has been focusing on the development of smaller vegetable varieties. "It may sound easy to develop smaller vegetables, but not every vegetable variety is suitable for this purpose. In addition, growers, retailers and consumers want a uniform product. With breeding we have been able to develop a number of vegetable varieties that meet all requirements and are smaller. In this way, we are responding to consumer needs and hopefully consumers will have to throw away less vegetables," says Heleen Bos, Specialist Marketing Organics at Rijk Zwaan.

Unique chain project

The Greenery works demand-driven and connects parties in the chain. "Together with Rijk Zwaan and Naturelle's growers, we have set up a unique chain project in which the entire chain, from seed supplier to consumer, is connected. In addition to all the insights, this also gives us a lot of energy," says Harm-Jan Eikelenboom, The Greenery's Marketing Manager, proudly. "With 'Little & Fresh', we want to make a further contribution to increasing the consumption of organic fruit and vegetables and to making our society more sustainable. The concept will be further optimised in the coming period on the basis of consumer reactions and insights from the chain.

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