Trends in the snacking category influence our table grape breeding process
September 15, 2021 | By Marieke Hemmes, FreshPlaza.com
Creating an incredible eating experience. That’s the mission of table grape breeding company IFG. “We start with the consumer and then work our way backwards,” says Andy Higgins, the company’s CEO. “If we can’t create an incredible eating experience for the consumer, we feel we’ve failed,” he added.
During the breeding process, the company tracks 45 different traits. Berry weight, yield, disease resistance, and storability are some key characteristics. “However, from a consumer perspective we also look at how well the grape accumulates sugar and what the eating profile is at maturity. In that process, the company heavily relies on consumer panels and internal testing teams.”
Snacking category
It takes about 10 years to develop a new grape variety and once planted, it takes a couple more years for the fruit to be sold commercially. “That brings us to one of the biggest challenges our R&D team is faced with. We need to predict what consumer eating trends are going to be 10 years down the road,” Higgins commented. With that in mind, the company constantly follows consumer trends and tries to understand demographics. “We’ve learned that younger consumers are looking for things to eat that are sweeter, requiring us to look at trends in the snacking category. These trends have taught us that among younger consumers, there is room for flavored varieties like Cotton Candy™.”
