Author: pr-moritz
Last saved by: Roland Birkhoff
Company: Bayer
Document comments: V-2025-03-04

Bayer to launch innovative strawberry variety
•	The new variety Baya Solara directly addresses the pressing production challenges for growers, combining high yield potential, disease resistance, and labor efficiency
•	Launch represents a cornerstone of the company’s strategic expansion into the strawberry market

Monheim am Rhein, January 8, 2026 – Bayer today announced the launch of Baya Solara, the first commercial strawberry variety from Bayer’s De Ruiter brand. The launch is a vital part of the company’s strategic expansion into the strawberry market and follows Bayer's acquisition of the strawberry assets from UK-based NIAB in 2023. The introduction of the new variety reinforces Bayer’s commitment to providing innovative solutions to protected culture growers and sets a new standard in soft fruit cultivation. Strawberries are among the fastest-growing fruit crops, with year-round demand exceeding supply.

“Our new variety Baya Solara is an exciting June-bearing cultivar and delivers impressive productivity and strong resistance to diseases like Phytophthora cactorum without compromising fruit quality. With this launch, we are targeting Northern Europe's rapidly growing protected cropping sector and offer growers new opportunities,” said Swanny Chouteau, Portfolio Lead for the Europe Middle East and Africa region at Bayer’s Crop Science division. 

Baya Solara is characterized by its large, uniform fruits and is designed to reduce post-harvest darkening, meeting the growing consumer and retail demand for high-quality strawberries. The fruit also offers a pleasant sweetness with a balanced sugar-acid ratio, making it an attractive option for consumers. In addition, this early-mid season June-bearer variety is designed to show significant improvement against common diseases, including Phytophthora cactorum, a fungal disease that causes the strawberries’ crown to rot. This genetic resistance is vital for ensuring the long-term viability of strawberry production.

“Baya Solara is a strawberry that offers many benefits. For growers, it means a more productive and reliable harvest. For retailers, it delivers consistent, large, firm fruits with excellent shelf life, reducing waste and ensuring dependable quality. For families, it offers delicious strawberries that stay fresh longer, helping them reduce waste and enjoy every berry,” said VK Kishore, Head of Global Product Innovation for Vegetables at Bayer’s Crop Science division. 

Baya Solara will be available to growers in the UK, Germany and Benelux. The June-bearer is the first one to be commercially launched since the NIAB acquisition, and complements six other strawberry varieties, including Malling™ Ace, a highly versatile and productive everbearer that has been increasingly favoured by growers and consumers, and Malling™ Centenary, a June-bearer market-leading variety, highly regarded for its standout fruit quality. 

With more than 20 different crops and thousands of seed selections, Bayer’s Vegetable Seeds business supports a diverse range of growers with seed varieties tailored to the tastes and preferences of consumers around the globe. Key crops include Tomato, Cucumber, Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Lettuce, Melon, Onion, Pepper, Spinach, Sweet Corn and Watermelon. 

About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. In line with its mission, “Health for all, Hunger for none,” the company’s products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2024, the Group employed around 93,000 people and had sales of 46.6 billion euros. R&D expenses amounted to 6.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Contact for media inquiries:
Alexander Hennig, phone +44 7345 443625 
Email: alexander.hennig@bayer.com

Find more information at www.bayer.com.

ahe	(2025-0004e)

Forward-Looking Statements 
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.