Lidl Polska works with over 840 suppliers from Poland on a daily basis. This group includes Rajpol, one of the largest and most modern Polish fruit producer organizations. It is Rajpol that supplies the chain with a rather unusual fruit – Polish watermelons, grown in southern Mazovia (especially around Grójec).
Watermelons adapted to the Polish climate?
These are special varieties that do well in our climate. Their main advantage is that they are picked when ripe, as they do not require several days of transport from southern Europe.
From the moment domestic watermelons are harvested to the time they hit store shelves, a maximum of a few days pass. Thanks to this, Lidl Polska customers can buy a vegetable that is naturally ripe and sweet. Watermelon is ideal as a light, summer snack that will satisfy hunger, thirst, and the need for vitamins and minerals necessary for the body to function. It is also low in calories – it has about 30 kcal in 100 grams.
Polish watermelons have another advantage – shorter transport from field to table, which uses much less energy compared to watermelons imported from southern Europe.
Several dozen hectares of watermelon cultivation
Watermelon seedlings grown by Rajpol are planted in the ground in mid-May, and harvest begins in the first half of August. Most of the fruit weighs between 3 and 6 kg, although the record holder weighed as much as 15 kg.
– We have been cooperating with Lidl Polska for 13 years, primarily supplying apples, pears, organic fruits, as well as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and gooseberries. Lidl Polska inspired us to grow Polish watermelon and so since 2021 we have been growing it and planting more every year – we started with a dozen or so hectares in three locations, and this season ten fruit growers are growing it on several dozen hectares – adds Hubert Woźniak, president of the Rajpol Producers Organization.
Will there be another product on Lidl shelves from Rajpol?
– Our success was also positively influenced by our cooperation with Lidl Polska, which gives us a sense of security. Lidl is our key client, thanks to whom we can invest. Thanks to this cooperation, our products are also offered on foreign markets – in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lithuania. We believe that our further cooperation will constantly develop, thanks to which we will constantly meet the high expectations of our customers. We intend to continue to invest in production lines, as well as introduce new products to the shelves of Lidl stores – adds Hubert Woźniak, president of the Rajpol Producers Organization.
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Watermelons from a farmer from Mazovia are this year's summer hit
