Franchising a unique papaw

29 YEARS AGO Len Hobson, the creator of the famous Papino brand, launched the innovative concept of franchising a variety of fruit or vegetable.

A new concept in agriculture, the franchising of crops, has been introduced by a Lowveld farmer who is making available under franchise his well-known Papino, an attractively flavored papaw.

A leading grower of subtropical fruits in the Letsitele Valley near Tzaneen in the North-eastern Transvaal for many years, Len Hobson successfully developed the Papino, said to be a greatly improved version of the papaw.

The Papino has enjoyed considerable commercial success, but it is an eccentric fruit requiring special knowledge of its requirements, says Hobson. According to him, papaws have long been the neglected poor relations of subtropical fruit. Their many and varied qualities have been known only to the relatively few. The original melon-like fruit, varying greatly in size and shape, did not travel well and was unsuitable for the then long sea journeys. Today, developed and sophisticated to overcome this disadvantage, South Africa now has the brand-named Papino.