Monsanto building on vegetable seeds segment

Monsanto Co. is breaking into the vegetable seed business with a focus on developing products based on consumer preferences.

The St. Louis-based seed and agricultural product company launched its vegetable segment, Monsanto Vegetables, with the purchase of Seminis Vegetable Seeds Inc. three years ago, and has since taken the segment through four significant acquisitions and up to $750 million in sales in 2007.

The vegetable seed division, which is under the new leadership of Consuelo Madere, is now three segments in itself: a protected culture (greenhouse/shade house, etc.) segment, an open-field segment and a smaller, regionally-focused segment. Madere took over as president of Monsanto Vegetables this year when Kerry Preete was promoted to vice president of international for Monsanto Co.

Madere joined the division just as its next biggest acquisition, DeRuiter Seed Co., joined the company this summer. “Seminis was more focused on open-field, with a very small program in protected culture,” Madere said. “DeRuiter was the opposite, with a very strong protected culture program, and very little in the open-field.”

The DeRuiter acquisition became final at the end of June. Meanwhile, throughout 2008, the company also acquired three smaller seed companies, which it has combined into a holding group called International Seed Group, the third segment of Monsanto Vegetables.
Holland-based Western Seed, Italy-based Peotec and French company Poloni all make up International Seed Group.

Monsanto plans to keep using Seminis and DeRuiter as brand names, given their already established brand equity.