Hazera Seeds
| Industry | Agriculture |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1939 |
| Founder | Tzadok Rosenthal |
| Headquarters | Israel; The Netherlands |
Key people | Ofer Peleg (CEO)[1] |
| Revenue | ILS 670,000,000 (2015)[2] |
Number of employees | 900 (2018) |
| Parent | Limagrain |
| Website | hazera |
Hazera Seeds Ltd. is a company that breeds, cultivates, develops, manufactures and markets a wide variety of vegetable seeds for the international farming industry.
History
[edit]Hazera (he: הזרע; the Seed) was founded in 1939 by Tzadok (Češek) Rosenthal from kibbutz Gan Shmuel along with Aryeh Partzi, Menachem Fruchter and Yehuda Grinker, all members of the secretariat of Vegetable Growers Organization, for the purpose of developing experimental farms and seeds for farmers in Israel. It was incorporated as a company in 1955.
The main site was founded in the 1950s in Haifa under the name "Hamashbir Zraim". It was later renamed "Hazera" and kept that name until it was demolished in 2010 to make way for an business and industry zone.
In 1992 the investment subsidiary of Bank Hapoalim has made a substantial investment in the company, a move which increased its sales and made it profitable.
In 1998 it was split into "Hazera Genetics" company, which continued to develop seeds, and "Hazera 1939", which holds the farms and other real estate.
In 2003 the majority shares were purchased by the Groupe Limagrain, an international agricultural co-operative group headquartered in France. In 2008 it was merged with Dutch company Nickerson-Zwaan.
In 2012, Hazera became the first seed company to participate in the initiative of Fair Planet, a nonprofit organization which helps introduce commercial seeds and farming practices of the developed world into Africa. This is due to the fact that the organization was founded by a former employee, Dr. Shoshan Haran.[3]
Core Business
[edit]The company focuses on development and cultivation of vegetables varieties. Most notable among the vegetable and plant seeds it produces are: tomato,[4][5][6] watermelon,[7][8][6], cotton,[9] bell pepper,[10] radish[11], cabbage[12], Cucumber[13] and leek[14][15]. Of those, with a 10% global market share[16], the roughly 20 tomatoes types it has developed are responsible for around a quarter of their revenue and yield the highest profit margin.[2]
It has two headquarters - one in Israel and the other in the Netherlands. It has 16 subsidiaries in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, and distributors in over 80 countries globally.[17]
The company invests around 20% of its revenue in R&D, and around 30% of its employees work in R&D.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ Seeds, Ofer Peleg-CEO of Hazera (2024-11-04). "Growing Together: Hazera's Global Vision for the Future of Agriculture". Seed World. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
- ^ a b Amit, Hagai (2015-02-01). "Israel's Hazera: From Tomato Seeds to International Growth". Haaretz. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ Leichman, Abigail Klein (2015-12-13). "Sowing seeds of success on Ethiopian farms". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ Hazera, Alejandro Szechtman-Tomato Portfolio Marketing Director (2025-02-07). "'Tomatoes that Work for You': Transforming Challenges into Advantages". Seed World. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
- ^ "Evaluating and introducing new varieties to the Polish market". www.hortidaily.com. 2025-03-12. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
- ^ a b Collen, Carl (2025-01-16). "Tomatoes and melons lead Hazera and HM Clause's Fruit Logistica charge". Fruitnet. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ "Watermelon Seeds Market Analysis Report 2025-2030, Featuring Bayer CropScience, Vilmorin & Cie, Syngenta, Origene Seeds, GoldSupplier, Tokita Seed Co., Emerald Seed Company & Hazera". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). 2024-11-29. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ "Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center Hosted Watermelon Variety Evaluation Open House". HLA Happenings. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
- ^ "Hazera cottons still draw crowd | Farm Progress". www.farmprogress.com. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ Miller, Carol (2019-08-28). "Peppers Topping Breeders' Lists [Slideshow]". Growing Produce. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
- ^ Collen, Carl (2024-03-07). "Hazera-developed radish wins Dutch award". Fruitnet. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
- ^ "Cabbages and Other Brassicas Market 2025-2033 Market Analysis: Trends, Dynamics, and Growth Opportunities". Data Insights Market. 2025-01-04. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ "Cucumber Seeds Size, Share, and Growth Report: In-Depth Analysis and Forecast to 2033". Data Insights Market. 2025-02-12. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ Staff, Compiled by (2017-07-22). "Hazera Expands Leek Seed Portfolio". Seed World. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
- ^ "2024-2030 Global and Chinese Leek Seed Market Research Report". EASSEEN CONSULTING. 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ "Hazera – the Tomatoes of Tomorrow". Israel Agricultural Technology & Innovations Hub. 2022-06-09. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ "Global presence". Global. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
- ^ "Our successes". Global. Retrieved 2025-06-06.