Menlo Park, California
June 10, 2008
Landec Corporation (Nasdaq: LNDC), a developer and marketer
of technology-based polymer products for food, agricultural and
licensed partner applications and
Monsanto Company (NYSE:
MON) announced today that Monsanto’s vegetable seed company,
Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc.,
and Landec’s food subsidiary, Apio, Inc., have entered into a
collaboration agreement to develop novel broccoli and
cauliflower products for the exclusive sale by Apio in defined
market segments and channels.
As part of the agreement, Apio and Seminis will work together to
identify and develop unique varieties of broccoli and
cauliflower for the North American market for use in Apio’s
proprietary value-added packaged bags and trays for retail
grocery chains, club stores and the foodservice industry. The
companies will focus on developing and commercializing broccoli
and cauliflower varieties that possess unique, desirable
consumer traits such as improved nutrition, flavor, color,
texture, taste, and/or aroma to improve the value of these
vegetable offerings in Apio’s products.
Seminis will apply its expertise to breed broccoli and
cauliflower qualities using proven techniques that improve the
speed and accuracy of new and beneficial trait identification
and selection. Apio will apply its expertise in sourcing,
manufacturing, packaging and marketing of vegetable products to
provide definition and guidance of market needs, packaging
solutions and commercialization strategies for these novel
consumer trait products. All products that reach
commercialization will be packaged using Apio’s proprietary
Intelimer® BreatheWay® packaging.
“We are very pleased that Seminis has chosen Apio as a partner
for the development and commercialization of its broccoli and
cauliflower varieties containing traits of added consumer
value,” stated Ron Midyett, Apio’s CEO. “By having the rights to
market and sell unique varieties exclusively in defined market
segments and channels, Apio has the ability to expand its
leadership position in packaged produce with truly
differentiated products that fulfill the needs of today’s
consumers. By meeting these needs, we believe we can profitably
accelerate our growth in the packaged vegetable category. We
expect field trials for the initial target varieties to begin
this fall.”
“With Apio’s guidance on packaged vegetables, this collaboration
offers us the opportunity to more effectively utilize our
extensive breeding capabilities to identify new vegetable
varieties and apply the depth and breadth of our technology
pipeline to provide real benefits to consumers as they look for
more ways to incorporate healthy eating habits into their
lifestyle,” said Ibrahim El Menschawi, Seminis marketing lead.
Seminis is the world's leading developer, producer and
marketer of vegetable seeds. Its products are designed to reduce
the need for agricultural chemicals, increase crop yield, reduce
spoilage, offer longer shelf life, and create better-tasting
foods and foods with higher nutritional content. Seminis has
established a worldwide presence and global sales and
distribution network that spans 150 countries and territories.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality.
Landec Corporation designs, develops, manufactures and sells
temperature-activated and other specialty polymer products for a
variety of food, agricultural and licensed partner applications.
The Company’s temperature-activated polymer products are based
on its proprietary Intelimer polymers which differ from other
polymers in that they can be customized to abruptly change their
physical characteristics when heated or cooled through a pre-set
temperature switch.
Other news
from Seminis
Vegetable Seeds, Inc. /
from Monsanto Company |
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