Cconsumer preferences must align with grower requirements for disease resistance, climate resilience and strong returns on investment
The pepper market is one of stability, with taste, convenience and health among the key sales drivers, while growers seek traits such as disease resistance, climate resilience and long shelf-life.
That is according to Paula van Velden, marketing specialist, pepper and tomato, at Rijk Zwaan, who offers Fruitnet a snapshot of the business.
“Looking at the European pepper market over the 2020-2024 period, we see household penetration in Europe is high, between 80-90 per cent for countries like the Netherlands and Germany,” she says.
“Sweet pepper volume trends vary across markets, while overall household spending remains stable, if not increasing slightly.”
Taste remains the most important driver of premium growth, van Velden explains, although convenience is a notable trend among young consumers, with Millennials and Gen Z showing a strong preference for smaller portions and ready-to-eat produce such as snack peppers.
Health remains important too, with consumers continuing to seek healthy, natural products.
“Sweet pointed peppers fit perfectly into this trend because of their healthy image, sweet taste and versatility,” she notes. “Retail is increasingly focusing on sustainability. And, lastly, we see organic is growing, especially in Germany.”
On the production side, return on investment is key for growers.
They seek varieties that combine strong agronomical performance, resistance to pests and diseases, climate resilience, reliable yield, consistent fruit quality, shelf-life, labour-friendly crops and traits that support sustainability.
“Alzamora is a good example of a blocky variety having it all, with, amongst other traits, a reliable yield,” van Velden points out.
“At the end it all comes down to the chosen varieties aligning with retail demand and offering clear consumer benefits, including premium-positioned concepts such as Sweet Palermo.”
Balancing consumer and grower needs is challenging, she confirms.
“Improving taste, appearance, shelf-life and sustainability is a complex challenge, as not all traits automatically develop in the same direction.
”Today’s varieties show that strong performance and excellent flavour can go hand in hand, though breeding for all traits together is challenging,” says van Velden.
”This underlines how essential it is to integrate all market requirements, from grower to consumer, from the very start of the breeding process.
”Continuously balancing these needs in a dynamic market is where Rijk Zwaan truly stands out,” she adds.
The company’s best-performing categories include the globally established Sweet Palermo range, known for its sweet taste, strong shelf-life and agronomical performance, and Tatayoyo, recognised for its bigger snack size and flavour and the winner of the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award in 2023.
“Together with strong performers in blocky like Alzamora and Cadalora, our normal snack range, Lamuyos and other segments, these varieties position us at the forefront of taste, innovation, sustainability and value creation within the global pepper category,” van Velden concludes.
