On 24 March 2026, Rijk Zwaan hosted an inspiring Crunchy Breeder Day at Rennie Farms, Paarl, in the Western Cape. The day brought together key players from across the lettuce value chain, from breeding, growing, processing and retail, to explore the latest developments in Crunchy Cos lettuce.

Around 100 visitors joined us for the Melon Days, including major retail, processing and export companies on day one, and growers during dedicated time slots on day two. Jandri Venter, Crop Specialist at Rijk Zwaan South Africa looks back: “Interest in melons and watermelons is booming. Hearing the excitement during the demo days around our introductions makes me proud of the steps we’re taking.”

Rijk Zwaan grew its sales by 9% in the 2024/2025 financial year, taking the annual total to €684 million. The growth occurred across virtually all of the fruit and vegetable breeding company’s active regions and crops.

We want to help growers get the best out of our varieties: to maximize their yield and achieve the highest quality. One important technique used is called ‘grafting’: a shoot from one plant cultivar is grafted onto the root system, or ‘rootstock’, of another. The result is a crop that has the best of both worlds.

Param Turna is Rijk Zwaan’s Sales Representative based in western Melbourne. He has been working with growers to improve and expand the range of vegetable snacking options available on supermarket shelves. Here, he tells us why Crunchy Cos lettuce varieties are improving sharing plates and event platters, as well as the way we snack across Australia.  

Making salad leaves tasty, visually appealing and improving shelf life is what Rijk Zwaan's Salanova® mixed butter leaf varieties are all about.

Across the globe, most people consistently eat too few vegetables. That’s why Veggies First has been launched: an international movement dedicated to increasing vegetable consumption.

Rijk Zwaan is proud to announce the opening of a new facility in De Lier. This expansion increases the fruit and vegetable breeding company’s capacity for seed cleaning, processing, storage and packaging to continue to meet the growing demand for seeds. In a ceremony attended by colleagues, construction partners and Bouke Arends, mayor of the Municipality of Westland, the new ‘Seed Connect Centre’ was officially opened on Tuesday 8 April.

Innovation is the only way to stay ahead of the game. That is why South African growing companies, supermarket chain Woolworths and Rijk Zwaan collaborated closely to bring customers something special in both the core fruit and the prepared fruit category: yellow watermelon Tropical Sunshine RZ. “It stands out because of its colour and amazing taste.”