In 2008, Hansabred GmbH & Co. KG was founded as a European strawberry breeding and research company. The shareholders are four widely known European companies: Kraege Beerenpflanzen (Germany), Vissers (Netherlands), R. W. Walpole Strawberry Plants Ltd. (UK) and Plantas de Navarra, S.A. (Spain). Important aspects of the Hansabred breeding programme are portrayed: high resistance to different pathogens and improved strawberry flavour. A large germplasm collection consist of two parts: “Professor Staudt Collection” with more than 900 accessions of wild species and a cultivar collection with 200 cultivars. It allows innovative pathways in strawberry breeding. Hansabred has initiated a project network together with fruit processing companies as well as national and international research institutes and universities. These contacts provide full compatibility with science-based breeding research. Experiences in the practical and scientific realization of inheritance studies, consumer assisted selection, cytological methods, fruit analysis and resistance evaluation exist.