Strawberry Delizz to be grown in Iran
Taste, but experience in particular, according to Bentvelsen, that's what characterizes Delizz. This strawberry breeder is working on this brand for two years now. "Delizz is a strawberry plant that bears real fruit when a consumer buys it", he says "So, when the plant is put on the windowsill at the consumer's home, they can harvest strawberries the same day and be surprised by its delicious taste. Afterwards, the consumer can continue harvesting the plant as it is an ever-bearer."
Since the introduction of Delizz, two years ago, ABZ Seeds received requests from various countries. "Within Europe mainly Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden and Germany. And outside Europe, Canada and the United States are important, but Australia too and we see a growing demand from Japan. And these are new customers, but also returning customers that want to expand their acreage."
Remarkable is their first shipment to Iran. "It is very special. At an exhibition, we met an Iranian distributor who sees opportunities for this product in the Iran market. It is a large market and now we can export to this country, one sees that the horticulture industry is catching up. This Mother's day, several Iran mothers will receive a Delizz-plant as a special gift", foresees Bentvelsen. Early December, seeds will be planted in Iran to have them ready for Mother's Day in May.
For ABZ Seeds, strawberry Delizz is an important development. The breeder has many colored flowered strawberry plants in their assortment, like Toscana, the winner of the Fleurostar a couple of years ago. "These strawberries are edible, but at the point of buying the plant, the ornamental value is very important. The strawberries are something extra." The new Delizz also brought us a lot of new customers. "Vegetable plants growers, but also kitchen herb growers are showing their interest. And Delizz fits well in the assortment of these growers. When looking further in the chain, we also see highly interested garden centers." Not very surprising, because ABZ's inspiration for Delizz mainly came from what's currently being offered at the garden centers. "Often they only offer small cuttings and one can hardly recognize a strawberry plant. That's why we came up with this concept."
In 2016 Delizz won the AAS Vegetable Award
For Delizz, the strawberry breeder developed a special gift packaging. "We supply them with the smaller orders. In this way, growers can show the possibilities of this concept to their clients. When supplying larger orders, growers often prefer to take care of their own packaging. This is possible, but the growers are obliged to put brand name Delizz on the packaging. "The consumer must be able to rely on buying the original Delizz plant. Only then, we can meet the expectations of mothers and, even more important, their children."
For more information
ABZ Seeds
Ingrid Bakker
Vleetweg 12
1619 PR Andijk
Tel. +31 228 515280
www.abz-strawberry.com