New Cherry/Plum Hybrid Hits Europe
March 26, 2013 
UNIVEG Katopé UK Ltd. has signed an exclusive marketing license with AIGN (Associated International Group of Nurseries) covering the European Union and Turkey, giving UNIVEG marketing rights for the cherry/plum hybrid known as “Nadia” (eu PBR application number 2008/0697). The Associated International Group of Nurseries member in North America is Brandt’s Fruit Trees, Inc. in Yakima, WA.
Originally bred in Australia, this novel fruit delivers the size and keeping qualities of a small plum, with the internal color and juice flow of a dark cherry. The taste is intense and sweet, with both cherry and plum flavors.
Richard Isaacs of UNIVEG Katopé UK Ltd. said: “We are very pleased to make this announcement and look forward to bringing this new fruit to consumers in the near future. We have had numerous discussions internally and with our customers — is it a giant cherry or is it a small plum? The jury may be out on that question, but one thing everyone certainly agrees on is that it is a fantastic tasting fruit, and quite unlike anything else currently available. Some other cherry/plum hybrids we’ve seen in the past have had very pale flesh and no cherry flavor at all, but Nadia definitely delivers on appearance and taste. When we showed the fruit to UK retailers recently, the feedback was very positive, and that is what really persuaded us to go ahead with this project.”
Nadia is also reported to have extremely high levels of antioxidants, far beyond standard cherries and plums, and has also performed very well in long-term storage tests.
UNIVEG will have exclusive access to commercial volumes of Nadia from established orchards in Australia; this fruit will be available in UK stores in January 2014. UNIVEG has also established test plots with some of its strategic cherry growers in various locations across Europe and in the UK.
A deal has also been signed between UNIVEG & AIGN to include Nadia in the East Malling cherry breeding program that is supported by UNIVEG Katopé UK Ltd. Richard Isaacs concludes, “We are confident that Nadia will hit the right notes with consumers looking for something really special in the stone fruit category, but we also hope it may be the parent or grandparent of a new generation of cherry-plums with even more stunning flavour and appearance. A family of top quality cherry-plums bursting with juice and flavour is our ultimate aim, to give our retail customers long seasons of supply from northern and southern hemisphere sources.”
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