Roland Sweijen has been working as Product Lead Strawberry at Limgroup for just over a year, a role where F1 Hybrid Strawberries plays a key part. The concept had been in development for years and was one of the main topics in his initial talks with Limgroup. Roland explains, “I spent 20 years in the vegetable seed industry, where hybrid breeding is the norm. So I was surprised to see that strawberries were still being propagated through runners. Given my background, I knew the transition to hybrid strawberries had enormous potential, and I was eager to be part of that journey at Limgroup.”

And that’s exactly what happened. On his very first day, the Pioneers gathered at Limgroup’s office in Horst to plan the launch of Limore One, the first variety within the F1 Hybrid Strawberries concept. “What immediately struck me was the enthusiasm of the Pioneers. Some of our partners were even more excited than we were. Hearing that level of excitement from such major companies confirmed to me that we had something truly special in our hands,” says Roland.