FIT4NEXT

Live from the field
to the big wide world

We have successfully relaunched our catch crop program internationally with FIT4NEXT. It was presented to colleagues in a virtual showroom.

How can a portfolio relaunch be publicized as efficiently and successfully as possible in more than a dozen international markets? It should be vivid and illustrative, and everyone should feel they’re actually standing in the field. But then we had no choice anyway: The restrictions due to the coronavirus would have thwarted all other options.

The idea was dreamed up during the budget planning at the beginning of 2020, i.e. before the coronavirus crisis, and was put into action in the fall of 2020 with the KWS FIT4NEXT Live Webinar. The slogan: From the field to the big wide world.

But one thing at a time: Foundation of the new SBU Special Crops & Organic Seeds in 2018 marked the start of implementation of a number of objectives from the 2018 Strategic Planning. Catch crops, which have been a firm part of KWS’ activities for decades, play a key role in that – in further developing KWS’ sustainability profile and strengthening sustainability in agriculture as a whole moving ahead.

Everyone should feel they’re
actually standing in the field.

Catch crops already play a significant role in most European countries and are gaining in importance in modern arable farming. So that the challenges related to soil conservation, weed control, nutrient dynamics and preserving biodiversity can be best tackled, practitioners are increasingly adopting approaches aimed at expanding the crop rotation, motivated partly of their own accord and partly by political considerations.

Successful relaunch internationally

To address all those demands, a relaunch of the established portfolio of catch crop mixtures was prepared in a process lasting more than one year. The objective was to market them through KWS Cereals, first of all in our core region Germany in 2020, and then internationalize these activities in the future. The relaunch was a success: New mixtures and a tailored sales concept enabled revenue to be increased in the very first year. A number of other countries, such as Croatia, Bulgaria and Denmark, adopted FIT4NEXT in 2020. That also reveals new approaches we can take inside the company: KWS FIT4NEXT is marketed internationally across the BUs and positions KWS as a full-line provider. FIT4NEXT is tailored perfectly to our main crops and thus to farmers’ needs.

Catch crops are gaining in importance in modern farming

We are planning to launch it in other countries, in particular in regions where cultivation of catch crops already plays an appreciable role. Apart from conventional distribution through retailers and direct sales to farmers, KWS’ web shop in Denmark also started offering FIT4NEXT in 2020. As plans now stand, this form of distribution is also to be intensified in Germany in 2021.

Presentation as a live broadcast

The first KWS FIT4NEXT live session was held as part of a market launch campaign on October 6. Hermann Klingemann, Felix Büchting and Andreas Gertz gave an introduction to the subject of catch crops, speaking from the perspective of their own task area. The broadcast was then relocated from the BOB building to the trial field in Markoldendorf ten kilometers away. In a mix of presentation slides and live images, we were able to familiarize the international participants comprising around 50 colleagues with the concept behind KWS FIT4NEXT, the key facts on catch crop mixtures, and the latest impressions from our trials. The participants gained not only a broad insight into the varieties we breed in-house, but also into the catch crop toolbox, our portfolio and the products in the pipeline.

The format “Live from the field to the big wide world” got off to a successful start and will also help ensure better and more vivid communication in the future. |

▶ The recording of the live session