Fall Creek, the Oregon-based company best known for blueberry genetics, has signed an exclusive agreement to propagate and sell Easy Rose, a pink primocane raspberry bred by Italian family business Lucchini Berries.
The licence covers Italy, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Morocco and Egypt. Fall Creek says it will consider further markets where trials are successful.
A pink raspberry built for easy growing
Easy Rose, also known as ALEL101, was bred by Elisa and Alessandro Lucchini in Verona. The fruit averages more than 7 grams, ripens to a light pink, and is firm and dry with a sweet flavour, qualities that help with handling and shelf life.
In primocane production, harvest starts 90 to 100 days after transplanting. The variety can also be grown as a floricane and may produce a third crop in good conditions. According to Italian Berry, its upright habit allows low planting densities of two to three plants per metre. The “Easy” name refers to how simple it is to grow and pick. Lucchini has said it suits mild and Mediterranean climates but also adapts well further north.
Alessandro Lucchini said Fall Creek “is the partner that can truly help it take off”, pointing to its international infrastructure.
Fall Creek’s second raspberry move in four months
The deal is more significant when set alongside Fall Creek’s recent activity. In June, the company acquired two Italian businesses, Berryplant and Berrytech, giving it raspberry and blackberry breeding for the first time.
Berryplant, based in Trentino, is one of only four certified European prebase material centres for Rubus plants and sells established raspberry varieties including Amalia, Clarita and Optima. Berrytech holds 10 plant breeders’ rights titles for raspberries and blackberries.
Explaining the move at the time, chief executive Marc de Beer said growers and retailers want a trusted partner “across berry categories, not just one”.
Taken together, the two deals suggest Fall Creek is building a full raspberry offering, combining its own breeding pipeline with licensed varieties like Easy Rose, rather than dipping a toe in.
No UK rights, yet
The UK is not among the markets covered by the Easy Rose licence. British growers rely heavily on primocane varieties to extend the raspberry season, and Lucchini’s claim that the variety adapts well to higher latitudes will be watched with interest. Whether Easy Rose reaches the UK will depend on the trials Fall Creek says it will run before expanding into new markets.
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