Seminis is a developer, grower, and marketer of fruit and vegetable seeds, currently a subsidiary of Bayer. Seminis' hybrids claim to improve nutrition, boost crop yields, limit spoilage and reduce the need for chemicals. Their retail line includes over 3,500 seed varieties.
History
Seminis was established in 1994 by Alfonso Romo under his Savia Group, a part of the Empresas La Moderna S.A. conglomerate, to consolidate leading companies in the fragmented fruit and vegetable seed industry.[2] The goal was realized by takeovers of several companies, including Asgrow, Petoseed, Royal Sluis, Bruinsma Seeds, and Genecorp.[3][4]
In 1996, Romo sold the field crop business of Seminis to Monsanto for $240 million.[5]