Melon, broccoli still linchpins of veteran seed breeder with ‘taste comes first’ motto. ince it began more than a century again in Japan, vegetable and flower seed breeder, Sakata has spanned five continents. From Sakata Vegetables Europe, based in Uchaud, France, head of marketing Andrew Dominy spoke about its new developments in European and Mediterranean markets. Dominy said broccoli seeds are still Sakata’s mainstay, accounting for about 80% of its sales. But its Piel de Sapo (also called Christmas) melon varieties are big sellers in the EU, especially Spain, and form a quarter of its global sales for this crop. “Our broccoli varieties are greatly valued among various countries and growers due to their adaptability and reliability. They offer the highest quality head on the market,” Dominy said. “And our Piel de Sapo melons varieties are unique, offering very high interior quality, without any glassiness, and with good yields and superb shipping ability, so integrated producers can offer year-round production.” Sakata continually seeks to optimise its range and is starting to expand its portfolio of varieties with new types of broccoli. As a company where “Taste comes first®”, Sakata focuses not just on varieties with improved performance for growers, but added value in terms of the eating experience of consumers. With this in mind, it is also launching a branded range of specialty/cocktail tomatoes varieties, Majestar®, which includes only those varieties with a minimum level of flavour. “In the coming year, we plan to expand this concept into a wide range of other vegetables and fruits,” Dominy said. “Sakata remains committed to supplying high quality vegetable varieties to our growers. Our investment is not just in the development of varieties, but the infrastructure supporting such development and the supply of seeds. The expansion of our facilities in France shows our passion for the sector,” he said.