PRESS RELEASE
La Ménitré, France - September, 2019
Page 1/2« EXPERIENCE THE LEAFY CHOICE »,A NEW SIGNATURE FOR
VILMORIN-MIKADO SALADS
Vilmorin-Mikado is officially unveiling the signature that will drive its salad range fromnow on: a complete and innovative line of almost 500 varieties that meets the needs ofthe entire industry. Its signature, “Experience the Leafy choice”, is a true invitation todiscovery. For this occasion, Vilmorin-Mikado is organizing almost 30 field daysaround the world to present its products range, sold under the Vilmorin brand. Throughthis launch, Vilmorin-Mikado is demonstrating its international expertise and asserting
its place among major industry players.
Expanding the salad range
and strengthening the team of Specialists
After 5 years of acquisitions and adding new
families such as spinach and baby leaves, the newsalad range is growing in scale. “With this newsignature, we want to show how versatile and original
our salad range is, which offers products adapted toevery market, for all types of production andconsumption habits around the world,” emphasizedCatherine Moulenat, Salad International manager at
Vilmorin-Mikado. To meet industry needs and keep up
with the market's swift evolution, Vilmorin-Mikado has
not only developed its range, but also strengthened its
Research, Development and Marketing teams. Now,each species is assigned to a product specialist
manager, who provides specific solutions for eachgrower, on five continents. Invaluable Species
expertise enables Vilmorin-Mikado teams to listen toeach market’s needs and provide suitable support in
the field.
A global strategy driven by innovation: the example of “Greens1”
A historic player in the seed industry, Vilmorin-Mikado is innovating and developing an unprecedented
market approach by expanding a breeding program for “Greens”. By investing in several research
programs in France, the United States, Spain, England and Australia, Vilmorin-Mikado is asserting its
place among major salad industry players and becoming the only seed company in the world witha research program dedicated to “Greens”.
1

Baby leaves other than lettuce: arugula, red or green kale,mustard greens, pak choi, beet greens and red amaranth

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Laura ANNE, Press relations Officer - laura.anne@vilmorin.com
Charlotte TAVIN, External communication Manager - charlotte.tavin@vilmorin.com
Tel.: +33 (0)2 41 79 41 43 - VILMORIN SA - Route du Manoir - 49250 La Ménitré - FrancePRESS RELEASE
La Ménitré, France - September, 2019
Page 2/2

Urban agriculture and hydroponics:
two major themes of the Vilmorin-Mikado
strategy
Resolutely focused on the future, VilmorinMikado is also involved in the development ofsalad varieties for urban agriculture andhydroponics. To respond to changing dietary
habits, Vilmorin-Mikado has developed
several strategic partnerships around theworld, especially in France and Japan. Thisis the case for Ferme Urbaine Lyonnaise(Lyon Urban Farm), for example, a project
supported by Vilmorin-Mikado that assists theFUL teams and supplies the pilot greenhousewith vegetable seeds. In addition, VilmorinMikado has launched an ambitious research
program with Chiba University in Japan tocreate vegetable varieties that are adapted tothese new production systems.
A local salad field day!
The new salad range signature “Experience the Leafy choice” will be presented as part of the over 30
platforms organized by Vilmorin-Mikado around the world. In France, the “New Leafy range”
event took place on 5 September 2019 at the La Ménitré site, nearby Angers: a day filled withpresentations of several major innovations in the range such as the Colored kale baby leaves trio
with the new KX1, KX2 and Red Russian varieties and complete resistance to Bremia
Bl: 16-36EU.
For more information on the new signature « Experience the Leafy choice » and the VilmorinMikado salad range, please, visit our website.
***About Vilmorin-Mikado
Vilmorin is a brand of the Vilmorin-Mikado Business Unit.
Vilmorin-Mikado is a Business Unit of Limagrain gathering the activities of Vilmorin SA (French seed company) and Mikado
Kyowa Seed Co. Ltd (Japanese seed company) since July 2016. As a global seed company, Vilmorin-Mikado has strong
basis over the 5 continents and offers a wide and original high-quality range to all professionals of the vegetable chain.
Vilmorin-Mikado is specialized in the creation, production and marketing of vegetable and tree seeds. Entirely dedicated toagricultural professionals, the company reaches a turnover of 208,4 million euros in 2017-2018 and has 1000 employees
worldwide. Vilmorin-Mikado devotes 16% of its turnover to research. Its seed varieties are distributed across more than 100countries. The world leader for carrots and witloof chicory, Vilmorin-Mikado is also a major player in lettuce, tomato, kabocha,
squash, daikon radish, bunching onion and tree seeds. www.vilmorinmikado.com
Limagrain, an international cooperative group created and directed by French farmers, moves agriculture forward to meetfood challenges. As a creator and producer of plant and cereal varieties, the Group markets seeds, and cereal products
intended for farmers, growers, home gardeners and for agri-food industrialists and consumers. Limagrain is the fourth largest
seed company in the world (field seeds and vegetable seeds), the second largest French baker and the third largest French
pastry maker, with strong brands on its respective markets: LG, Vilmorin, Clause, Hazera, Harris, Moran, Jacquet, Brossard.
Limagrain makes sales of almost 2.5 billion Euros and has more than 10,000 employees spread 89 countries, including morethan 2,100 working in research. The Limagrain Cooperative has almost 2,000 farmer members. www.limagrain.com #Limagrain

MEDIA CONTACTS:Laura ANNE, Press relations Officer - laura.anne@vilmorin.com
Charlotte TAVIN, External communication Manager - charlotte.tavin@vilmorin.com
Tel.: +33 (0)2 41 79 41 43 - VILMORIN SA - Route du Manoir - 49250 La Ménitré - France