As well as the regular cucumber and the snack cucumbers, there is a third cucumber segment in the Netherlands: mini cucumbers. This cucumber variety weighs between 100 and 150 grams. The segment is growing quickly, notes Leander van Griend of Royal ZON. "All German retailers have mini cucumbers in their assortment as a fixed product all year round, but the mini cucumber is also gaining popularity in the Netherlands."

Kilo or individual price
The mini cucumbers, supplied to Royal ZON by a threesome of growers, are sold in contracts and auctioned from week 10 to week 42. Leander: "In German retail the mini cucumbers are loose or packaged in almost all shelves. There are seasonal contracts with those growers. In the German experience, research shows, the mini cucumber is tastier because its smaller. Its a real snack to our eastern neighbours."

The mini cucumber is also appearing more and more among retailers in the Netherlands. Leander: "We offer the mini cucumbers from Royal ZON packaged in trays, tubs and bags with 2 mini cucumbers, but they are also naked on the shelves."

Mini cucumbers are auctioned every day at Royal ZON. Leander: "The growers pick how to supply their product to us. We have all possible sortings for our own customers. Both EPS boxes with 32 mini cucumbers and pool boxes with 12 kilos of mini cucumbers are auctioned. Dependent on the market situation and their final customers, buyers then go for kilo price for the 12 kilo pool boxes or for individual price for the 32 piece EPS boxes."

Two segments
The striking thing about the mini cucumbers is that they are used in two segments. Its not just the snack vegetable trend that the mini cucumber is riding on. "The 12 kilo pool boxes with mini cucumbers are very popular among the German groβmarkets. The mini cucumbers are used for pickling or processed into salads, as they can replac fresh gherkins. Its a clear difference in eating culture with the Netherlands. Fresh gherkins cant even be found in the shop shelves here.

The fact that the mini cucumbers are part of two segments can also be seen in the prices. Leander: "The special thing about this product is that we deal with the day to day market for gherkins as well as that for regular cucumbers. If the prices for gherkins are high, the buyers opt for mini cucumbers. The daily trade also responds to price fluctuations of the regular market."

Lunch box
In the Netherlands, Royal ZON is really focusing on the snack segment. Leander: "Eating one mini cucumber a day (??) soon allows you to reach the daily recommended amount of 250 grams of vegetables. We are promoting mini cucumbers for school fruit packages and are particularly looking at the out-of-home-segment. It isnt our intention to compete with the regular cucumber, but everyone wants the consumer to put the mini cucumber in their lunchbox as a standard."

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