The experts in the asparagus sector all agree on one thing, at least,  when it comes to 2018 - it was a season that should soon be forgotten; that is clear. At ZON, Product Marketer, Jenny Peters, Senior Product Manager, Rick Mengers, and Key Account Manager, Jørgen Snoijink, have all been hard at work.

They are busy preparing for a, hopefully, better 2019 asparagus season. These people have been getting ready for this new season at this Dutch growers association since the end of 2018.

‘New season, new opportunities." Rick Mengers uses these four words to explain his expectations for the new 2019 asparagus season. "Yes, you actually start from the ground up again," he says. "The weather conditions will, once again, have a major impact on what course the asparagus season takes. This was also the case in previous years."

"Last year, the weather took a heavy toll. Let us hope it will be more limited in the coming season. In any case, regarding cultivation and acreage, we have seen that the closure of a few companies. This has led to somewhat less acreage than there was last year. The dry weather in 2018 was so intense that not nearly enough asparagus growers were able to irrigate properly."

"It is clear that this lack of water damaged the plants. However, it remains to be seen how this will affect harvesting. based on an initial inspection of the number of eyes on the plants, we are expecting about 15 to 20% lower yields," says Rick. He expects the damage caused in Germany by too little moisture to be significantly higher than in the Netherlands. An added benefit of this is that there will probably be more demand from Germany for Dutch products in the coming season.

Opening of the season
There were activities around the Asparagus store in 2017. Then there was the successful opening of the 2018 season at Gassan Diamonds in Amsterdam. This, therefore, justifies the question of whether there will be a similar opening in 2109. This is what Jenny Peters has to say: "It is not really realistic to think you can improve on such well-publicised events every year."

"This is also not the point. We are, of course, thinking about the possibilities. We have, for example, been approached by the regional Limburg hospitality industry. They want to see if we can work together around the opening of the season. This year, we will also put a lot of effort into the generic promotion of asparagus."

This, and the collaboration with leading labels will form the guideline for promotional activities. This is for activities both on the shop floor and online. In this way, we are trying to inspire consumers to eat more asparagus, and on a more frequent basis. We might also do something with shop floor activations again. We are still in discussion with various parties about this."

When Jørgen Snoijink is then asked which parties these are, he remains silent. "I cannot say anything about that yet. I agree with Jenny. We do not think it wise to name names at this stage already. This is because we are still fully in discussions. That is why we are not divulging anything."

Limburg asparagus
Now, back to Rick Mengers. Will the ‘Limburgse Asperges’ label be used in the upcoming season again? This label was brought off the ground two years ago. "Yes, of course," he says. "In the coming season, we will spend less time on promotions. Together with Teboza, we will focus on better coordinating matters in, especially, the area of quality sorting. This sorting will be done under the Limburg asparagus banner." 

"Earlier last month, both Teboza and ZON gave attention to the Limburg asparagus. This was from each of their stands at Fruit Logistica, which was held in Berlin. It would, of course, have been a missed opportunity not to use that important stage for that," continues Rick.

New season, new opportunities; or to put in it cycling terns - Paris is still far off. The 2019 asparagus season is in full swing. In June we will get an updat of how it is progressing.