Review of Syngenta's bell pepper event: What does the future hold for bell peppers?

The second edition of the Syngenta Bell Pepper Event was held last week. Entitled "What does the future hold for Bell Peppers", it was held at the ADO The Hague Stadium, in the Netherlands. The first edition of this conference was a resounding success.

Four speakers provided a varied programme. There were talks on international cooperation, innovation, value creation, and the digital (r)evolution. This was all with the aim of unifying the sector. They also want to inspire it for their future success.

Information, inspiration, lots of questions, and time for fun

The venue for the event was the ADO The Hague's Cars Jeans Stadium. Here, guests received for informative and inspiring presentations.

The afternoon was opened by Arend Schot, Head of EAME Vegetable Seeds at Syngenta. Sygenta is a global biotechnology company. Arend explained the importance of the conference and of working together. He focused on Syngenta's bell pepper team.


After that, Portfolio Manager, Rik Lootens, was first up. He did a very interesting follow-up of the previous edition's presentation for the 50-odd onlookers. Where are the different bell pepper markets' opportunities and threats? The differences between Spain, Israel, and the Netherlands were explained. The technical aspects of cultivation, as well as the sales opportunities, were highlighted.

Then, SVP International Retail's Patrick van der Zee (IRI), gave a thorough insight into the supermarket landscape. What kind of fruit and vegetables does the consumer eat? Where are the opportunities in the Netherlands? Which innovations work? Patrick said, "Not all product innovations are based on a completely new product. The most successful ones are a new version of an existing product. They respond well to the customer's need."

After a refreshments break, the visitors were immersed in a real taste experience. Caroline Labrie, Quality Greenhouse vegetable Researcher at the WUR, told them about the many possibilities offered by taste research. She also informed them of which aspects consumers take heed of when choosing a bell pepper. "Take a look at the top three of these factors that consumers base their choices on. You will see that taste is the most important. Yet, currently, not much is being communicated to consumers about this", said Caroline.

Michiel Meekels, Design Director at Today Is..., was the final speaker. He took the visitors on a trip through bell peppers' history, ending in the present day. A scene that amazed many a visitor. "The artificial intelligence that is already being used is unbelievable. Think of a shop like AmazonGo in the USA. A system where shoppers can take products off the shelf and just walk out. The products are automatically paid for via an account. This seems futuristic, but it already exists!", says Michiel, enthusiastically.

After the presentation programme, it was time to relax. The guests, in two groups, were taken on a tour of the ADO stadium. At the end of the tour, the visitors were led through the players' tunnel to the field. There they kicked a football around for a bit. This was, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.