Heart-shaped cucumbers given 'great spot' again this year

They are back again this year: heart-shaped cucumbers. Grower Snack Products from Asten grows the cucumbers exclusively, in the well-known Qutefruit plastic mold that gives the cucumbers their special heart shape. But does the special gift also know how to find its way to loved ones in corona time? "Yes, certainly, they will also get 'a nice spot' this year," says grower Willy van Bussel.

Van Gelder Groente & Fruit, among others, provides that great spot. The fruit and vegetable supplier sells the special cucumbers through its own channel versbestellen.nl. Consumers can find the product there.

Van Gelder Ridderkerk

This year, a smaller quantity was purchased by Van Gelder, says Robin Rietdijk, marketer at Van Gelder. The past has shown that sales at Van Gelder only peak around Valentine's Day. This includes this year. "We see that things are going very fast at the moment and our stock is running out quickly. We therefore call on our customers to place their orders now to prevent them from missing out."

View a video about the product from 2019 here. In it, grower Willy explains how it works

New packaging Qutefruit

New to the concept this year is 'a new trendy packaging', Cor says. "The packaging makes it a nice gift, to give and to receive."

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The product is given the special shape by placing a small cucumber on the mold and then the cucumber is harvested after maturity. A labour-intensive process, for which the inventor of the concept, Cor Pellikaan, developed a machine that removes the hearts from the mold. The concept is now also in use internationally.

Snack Products packs the cucumbers themselves. The grower doesn't only grow heart-shaped cucumbers. The 2.3 hectare greenhouse also produces snack cucumbers all year round. "Just like the cultivation of the heart cucumber, that cultivation is also continuing. At the moment it is quiet. Fortunately it is a bit lighter outside again, so things are going in the right direction."

For more information:
Snack Products 
www.snackproductsbv.nl 

Van Gelder groente & fruit     
www.vangeldernederland.nl

Publication date: Fri 12 Feb 2021
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