Harmonize’s tomatoes. Photo: Harmoniz
The consumption of vegetables and fruits in Israel is in a continuous and significant decline. Between the years 2000 and 2020, the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in Israel decreased from about 275 kg per person per year to only about 215 kg per year. The Harmoniz company from Kibbutz Kfar Menachem, which specializes in the development of greenhouse seeds, has set as its goal to develop and sell vegetables that consumers will love to eat and growers will love to grow.
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The company uses innovative molecular biology and seed breeding technologies to provide supermarkets around the world with tastier, fresher tomatoes with improved virus resistance.
According to a study published by Eurostat in 2019, only 12% of the EU population consumed the recommended minimum amount of 5 fruits and vegetables every day, and the consumption patterns in the different countries were found to be different. For example, 32.9% of the citizens of Ireland and 29.5% of the citizens of the Netherlands consumed the minimum recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables every day, while in Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania only 6% of the residents consumed the recommended amount. One of the prominent reasons mentioned by the participants for low consumption of tomatoes was their bad taste.
Harmonize’s solution serves both growers and marketers, adapting to the unique needs of each of the groups. The marketing chains benefit from tomatoes that are fresh and whose shelf life is significantly longer than usual and they are available throughout the year, every day and week. Growers benefit from the possibility of extracting greater economic value from the seeds including a larger yield, improved taste, higher quality colors and textures, and higher durability.
To achieve these goals, Harmonize was able to identify the DNA markers that create resistance to a unique virus that attacks tomatoes (ToBRFV – Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus). Since 2014, this virus has wreaked havoc in tomato orchards around the world of all varieties, from cherry tomatoes to large tomatoes. The virus has attacked greenhouses in North America, Europe, the Middle East and is spreading to other regions. In Israel, all growing areas were severely affected by ToBRFV and its effects were well felt both in the cultivation of tomatoes in the growing areas and in the quality and appearance of the harvested fruit sold.
Ofer Ben Zvi CEO of Harmonize. Photo: Harmoniz
As part of its commitment to sustainability, Harmonize cultivated tomato varieties that can be grown both in heated greenhouses and in unheated greenhouses – thus tomatoes can be supplied throughout the year, in winter as well as in summer. Due to the longer freshness of the tomatoes after picking, they arrive at the markets in excellent condition and thus the waste of food that is thrown into bins can be reduced.
Ofer Ben Zvi, CEO of Harmoniz: “Our mission is clear: to develop and sell vegetables that consumers will love to eat and growers will love to grow. All this, while cultivating innovation, creativity and focusing on the consumer who is at the end of the supply chain. We provide a perfect fusion between flavors, technologies and innovation and provide enhanced food experiences. At a time when the public in Israel and around the world consumes less vegetables and fruits, our pursuit to improve as much as possible their supply chain becomes more important and relevant.”
Harmonize was recently born following the completion of the merger processes between the companies TomatoTech, a seed cultivation company, and Nirit Seeds, a vegetable seed development company. The company headquarters operates in Israel and has cultivation and marketing activities in Spain, Italy, Holland, Great Britain, Greece, Mexico, Canada, South Africa and Morocco.
The merger between the companies led to a business boom and as a result the number of employees of the company grew, now reaching 80 people worldwide, among them: molecular biologists, seed breeders and agronomists. The company is also expanding its operations in Israel following the expansion of its logistics center and headquarters in Kibbutz Kfar Menachem and continues to recruit additional employees.
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