Greenco's Tommies have now been around for ten years. In the demonstration greenhouse in Honselersdijk, The Netherlands founder Jos van Mil and marketing manager Yvonne Vanlier talk about the anniversary. When they started, Tommies was the first with 'sweet' vegetables, but nowadays they are definitely not the only one. How do Tommies keep their place in the growing market? According to Jos, they keep their place by thinking more and more from the consumers point of view: "We are getting better and better at matching the packaging with the product. An example is the new cups with extra ventilation holes, making it possible to package a cocktail of sweet vegetables in one cup." According to Yvonne, Tommies has learned a lot from competitors: "They convinced us to set our own course."
Maturing
Their own 'course' consists of, among others, maturing the sweet vegetables. In 2014 the team decided to take an 'inspiration tour' to decide the future of the sweet vegetables. Jos: "We visited a number of major cities and saw an important trend: the average person eats throughout the entire day. This begins at the station, in the train to work and during meetings." Jos and his team came to an important conclusion: during all the moments when people were going to eat, sweet vegetables should be available to them, "The target group is larger and Tommies will mature."
Maturing would include a new look. Therefore Greenco recently presented it's new Tommies logo. Yvonne explains the choice: "Tommies grew up with the clown. Very recognizable and cheerful, but also childish. Our ambition is to not only get kids to eat healthy, but adults as well. We also want to be relevant at different times and places. Tommies' name is well known, but it also had little substance. The new logo is still fresh and cheerful but geared more towards a broader audience."
Sweet vegetables everywhere
Through innovative distribution, Tommies is trying to supply not only the retail sector but also schools, offices and sports bars. "That is a challenge," says Yvonne. "You enter a new market with pre-existing collaborations. You therefore have to be mindful when getting started. We have carried out pilot programs offering sweet vegetables in companies and snack bars together with Wageningen University and the Fresh Produce Center. In addition, according to a test done by Van der Valk, vegetables are eaten during meetings, but only if they are presented in an attractive manner. This means that each country may require it's own approach, but we want to implement this idea in each country first. The Netherlands and Germany are the largest markets. Tommies sweet vegetables can be found anywhere from Finland to Hong Kong, as well as the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. For the American market the sweet vegetables are grown in Mexico."
Growth
Co-founder Ab van Marrewijk gives a brief overview of Tommies development: "In 1996 he invited a few entrepreneurs to discuss the vision for the future. They decided to work together and the Greenco partnership was born. The Greenery had a customer needing 5,000 kilos per week and in the following years there was always a 60% growth rate. At the current location they started with 3 lines; since then, it has grown to 14 lines. In 2007 and 2008 cucumbers and bell peppers were added to the range. Production now covers 30 acres in the Netherlands, 4 acres of contract farming in Mexico and 46 acres in Spain. 11 million kilos of tomatoes are expected this year."
Jos sees a bright future: "We are going to see sweet vegetables in meeting rooms, sports bars and everywhere people eat these days. In addition, Tommies will also be seen in the new kiosks in NS (the train system in the Netherlands) shortly."
More information:
Greenco
Yvonne Vanlier
T: 0174 6125200174 612520
E: y.vanlier@greenco.com
www.tommies.nl