The coming year will see a focus on innovation and exciting new products at Polish group Rajpol, according to CEO Dominik Woźniak and business development manager Aleksandra Ośko-Woźniak

Jabłko Pola apple label Rajpol Poland

The Jabłko Pola apple

What are your hopes for the year ahead, both for your company and the business as a whole?

Dominik Wozniak: At the beginning of 2022, everyone hoped that after two years of restrictions caused by Covid, we would be returning to normal – but then everything changed in February.

It has been a year since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and so far there is no end to hostilities. A truce will not only save human lives but will give hope for a bit of normalcy.

Surely each of us would like to end the war in Ukraine. War, inflation, logistics problems – we all need some optimism and hope in our activities in the fruit industry for the next year.

What will Rajpol be bringing to the market this year?

Aleksandra Ośko-Woźniak: This year will be one of novelties for Rajpol. We are introducing a new apple variety to the market. The variety is named Jabłko Pola and is a completely new quality standard on the market.

Parameters such as sweetness, crunchiness and juiciness combined with exceptional durability make us believe that the Pola apple will conquer the palates of consumers in many markets.

Another big topic is the launch of snacks, also under the Pola brand. The first products are Pola apple chips. Delicious, sweet, with a distinctive texture, they are the perfect snack during a busy day.

Pola snacks is a project that we plan to intensively develop in 2023. We see great potential for gaining new markets and managing surplus products with these snacks.

In the 2022 season, we successfully launched a watermelon variety adapted to Polish conditions. This is the first commercial watermelon crop in Poland, which has been very well received by our customers.

In 2023 we have plans to at least double the production of Polish watermelons, which fits perfectly into the ‘buy local’ strategy.

The full interview will be published in the March issue of Eurofruit