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The unprecedented success of the Extase tomato radically increased demand, and Enza Zaden quickly needed to scale up: more people, more greenhouses, and new seed production locations across the globe. And we entered more markets: Belgium, Great Britain, Eastern Europe, and Turkey. Starting in the 60s, it was clear that major opportunities were waiting for us across the globe. Growers everywhere started to notice that Enza Zaden was a great partner in developing new varieties.
In 1966, Enza Zaden joined forces with another seed trader to breed bean varieties in Tanzania in East Africa. The tropical climate in the high region of Arusha was temperate and relatively dry, making this perfect for selecting vegetable varieties. For that time, this was another bold move that resulted in our own seed production location. And our Tanzania facility is still going strong today!
'Quite an adventure, there were hardly any directions in English or even anyone who spoke a few words of English.’
The strongest relationships are with friends and family. And that’s exactly what our family-to-family business connection with seed production company Takii in Kyoto, Japan, is based on. After Piet Mazereeuw saw one of their ads in a foreign seed catalogue, he decided to look them up. When they first met in 1968, Piet and the Takii family recognized their mutual passion, and it was the start of a long-lasting collaboration. It was the beginning of a life-long love of East Asia. Entrepreneurial spirit dares to cross boundaries and, in this case, continents.
More attractive products – with beautiful lady names – were added to our portfolio in the 60s. Renate and Cynthia were popular lettuce varieties that helped Enza Zaden meet the demands of growers. The broader portfolio with more crops and the quick expansion into new markets helped Enza Zaden develop a steady business and made us less vulnerable. And most importantly, the British loved our lettuce varieties: a roaring success. By 1985, our UK business had flourished, and the local office was overflowing. To stay in touch with growers, we launched Enza Zaden UK Ltd.
Around 1987, Enza Zaden relocated its breeding activities in the Mediterranean region from Crete to Spain. Our new location in Almeria, blessed with an excellent breeding climate, rapidly expanded in the 80s to become Europe’s most important horticultural area for vulnerable winter crops. This enabled retailers to provide a year-round supply of vegetables in all the Northern European countries, where consumers could finally enjoy them every day of the year.
Ewindo was established in 1990 as a joint venture with East West Seeds to develop vegetable seeds resistant to plant diseases and climate conditions prevailing in Indonesia. This enables local growers to increase yields and, consequently, their income. Of course, we make sure that the varieties meet the consumers’ tastes and wishes in Indonesia and the rest of Asia. This boosts the consumption of vegetables – such as cucumber, tomato, chili peppers, bitter gourd, and yard-long beans. Ewindo works with 7,000 seed-producing growers in West and East Java to supply high-quality vegetable seeds to 10,000,000 (!) professional Indonesian vegetable growers.