Innovation is one of the most decisive drivers for maintaining competitiveness in the fruit and vegetable sector. The concept gained widespread attention through the work of C. Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School, who in his book The Innovator’s Dilemma explained how established companies often face significant barriers when it comes to innovation.
These organizations—typically mature and operating at substantial scale—are usually very effective at adopting incremental innovations, meaning small, continuous improvements to products or processes. However, this same approach often makes it difficult for them to anticipate radical innovations, which tend to emerge from smaller, more agile companies capable of completely transforming a market.
What Is Incremental Innovation in Horticulture?
Well-established companies in the sector typically focus on improving existing products through:
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New designs and packaging
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Increased capacity or enhanced functionality
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New applications for the same product
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Optimization of production processes
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Improved quality control systems
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Adoption of already proven postharvest technologies
These incremental improvements help maintain or increase prices and sales, but they are easily replicated. Within a few years, they become standard practices across the horticultural market.
Common examples include improvements in the application of crop protection products, more advanced use of biological control, or packaging solutions that better protect fruit during transport.
These types of incremental improvements are part of the core strategies we analyze in depth through our consulting services.
What Is Radical Innovation and Why It Transforms the Sector
Radical innovation emerges when a new technology delivers a product with similar—or slightly inferior—features at a dramatically lower cost, fundamentally changing the rules of the market.
These breakthroughs can displace established competitors or significantly reduce their market share.
A classic example outside the sector is the emergence of the MP3 format compared to incremental improvements in CD players.
In horticulture, radical innovation has primarily come from two main avenues:
1. Genetic Improvement
This is the most powerful transformative force in the sector. Some examples include:
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Del Monte’s “supersweet” pineapples, varieties with consistently high sugar content throughout the year.
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The strong growth of the blackberry and raspberry market in the United States (10–20% annually), driven by varieties with improved shelf life and better postharvest performance.
These innovations completely reshaped market dynamics, boosting consumption and expanding commercial windows.
2. New Transport and Preservation Technologies
Some non-genetic innovations have also been radical in nature:
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The introduction of controlled atmosphere (CA) technology for maritime transport from distant origins such as Chile.
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Advances that made it possible to ship sensitive fruit over long distances while maintaining quality.
These technologies continue to create significant competitive differences among marketers today.
Real-world examples of how such innovations impact the production chain can be seen in our case studies.
Why Companies Must Monitor Radical Innovation
A horticultural company cannot rely solely on incremental improvements if it wants to maintain its market position.
At a minimum, it must closely monitor radical innovations that have the potential to redefine the sector and, whenever possible, participate in their development.
Companies that are able to anticipate and adopt these innovations typically gain strong and lasting competitive advantages—an approach that forms part of our advisory processes at FruitProfits.