A new grapefruit and pomelo cross called Redson, that is both sweeter while still bitter, is on the water to soon be enjoyed by European customers this winter. The commercial variety that has been 'bubbling under' and has been available in limited quantities the past few years will appear in larger quantities of a major European retailer soon.
According to Saar Ziv, of BeFresh Europe, the new variety developed by the Volcani Institute in Israel, is a hybrid variety obtained by cross breeding Pomelo and Grapefruit. The official variety name is Einat, but it is marketed commercially as Redson. "Our company started to trial this variety over ten years ago. We had some growers who were looking for marketing opportunities, we tried it with our network of customers. More recently, we started to have a bit more success. We introduced the Redson to markets in Europe, but still with small volumes. This year we're expecting to increase volumes a bit, mainly due to having a program with a supermarket retailer. We have to give them a lot of credit because they were receptive to it, and introduced the Redson to their customers, which had a positive response. This meant they can look at it this year as something they want to introduce more widely. For us it's a positive development. We just started shipping it in the last few weeks, we have to see how it goes, we are quite optimistic about it," says a hopeful Ziv.
Declining grapefruit consumption
He says despite the Redson being commercially available, the grapefruit category around the world has been declining. The grapefruit category is not the most popular, consumption is decreasing in most markets. This variety is still in the grapefruit category. It is more 'user-friendly', but it's still a large fruit, and not an 'easy peeler'. Every year there's a global decrease of consumption of grapefruit. I heard figures of a 2% per year decrease of consumption in Europe. The decrease is connected to all factors like the taste, ease of use. There's also the issue of grapefruit that interferes with heart medications etc. These medications are becoming more widespread and it is becoming a factor. It is also less appealing to the younger generation." explains Ziv.
Despite these factors Ziv says they have several growers who have a sizeable volume of Redson available to meet the demand. "It's not the biggest variety, but it has potential to be a good variety for growers due to its high yields. This allows us to have a good supply base."
Europe, North America and eventually Asia in sights
Besides Europe, Ziv says Asia, as a large market that currently has good grapefruit consumption, holds potential for Redson in the long term. "Asia has become a big market for grapefruit, but introducing it there is a long prospect, I don't think much work has been done there yet. It was just easier to start in Europe. There has been Redson exports to Canada in North America too. The first efforts were made into Europe, because it has a shorter transit time and we receive quicker feedback. First we must find some kind of success in Europe, then if it is successful we can expand Redson exports to other markets as well."
For more information:
Saar Ziv
BeFresh Europe
Tel: +972 4 619 1736
[email protected]