“We are starting the grape campaign with new varieties”

“We have just finished a good off-season campaign, with sales up by more than 20% and good overall results. Now we are fully switching to the domestic grapes harvested in our earliest plots,” says Miriam Cutillas, of the sales and marketing department of Uvasdoce.

The 2019 table grape campaign has officially started for the Alicante-based company, and it does so with the harvest of three of its earliest varieties: the Victoria, a large-sized white grape with seeds, with a pale yellow color and a fresh neutral flavor; the Sugraone, a white seedless grape, light green in color and with a sweet and very refreshing taste, and the Arra 29, a large-sized red seedless grape with a sweet apple taste.

“The volume this year is not going to be great, but it will be balanced for practically all varieties. A very high quality is expected, as is already the case for these first three varieties, with large sizes, uniform colors and a medium to high Brix,” she said.

These three varieties, which will cover the whole month of July, will then be followed by the Timpson (white seedless), which is being harvested for the first time this campaign, and the Sweet Celebration (red seedless). Moreover, in a couple of weeks, it will already be possible to try the first Candy of the year: Candy Snaps, with a delicious strawberry flavor.

The arrival of this variety will be accompanied by one of the most important news this season: the launch of a new product targeted at the youngest consumers; a 200 gram pack of the sweetest grapes available. This can contain several varieties and different colors, although the delicious Candies will be prioritized. It is an easy format to take away anywhere, anytime, with a 100% recyclable and washable container.

To promote this new product, Uvasdoce is developing a videogame that all consumers will be able to download on their mobile devices later this month, and which will be available in both the Android Play Store and the Apple Store.

“Users will have to help our various grape varieties – the Essentials – to complete certain challenges while defending themselves from enemies and avoiding obstacles. With the purchase of the new container, they will receive a piece of a collectible puzzle, and inside this piece, there will be a QR code that will serve to unlock one of the 15 essentials that will be part of the game,” explains Miriam Cutillas.

As far as varieties are concerned, the Alicante-based entity is still on track to expand its range of seedless varieties. In 2019, it will already have seven new apyrene varieties and only 10% of the firm’s total table grape production will still have seeds.

This month of July, it will be harvesting and marketing the Candy varieties of the IFG company for the first time. These are the Candy Snaps, Candy Drops, Candy Hearts, Candy Dreams and Candy Crunch. The first three are pink varieties, while the Candy Dreams and Candy Crunch are black grape varieties. It will also harvest the Timpson and Allison, both belonging to the SNFL varietal program.

The Timpson is a mid-season, white seedless grape with a sweet flavor and crunchy texture, while the Allison is a late pink seedless grape, with rather large grains. This is the variety that will allow Uvasdoce to reach the end of the campaign with a greater volume than in previous years.