The cherry vine tomatoes from grower Royal Pride in Middenmeer, the Netherlands, have been elected product of the year by the Germans. The production company supplies their product to supermarket chains including Netto. The Dutch tomatoes, which are marketed under the brand name Markttag Premium in Germany, were judged on presentation, user friendliness and price-quality relation. Grower’s association, Harvest House, says they’re very happy with this foreign distinction.
The team of Dutch production company Royal Pride.
Approximately 31,500 Germans voted online recently, and they had the choice of 172 products in total, divided across 32 categories. The Dutch cherry vine tomato of the Markttag brand was one of four winners, and it was chosen most often in the ‘Vegetables and Herbs’ category. Besides direct product characteristics, the respondents could also indicate whether they bought the product repeatedly and whether they would recommend it to others. Royal Pride’s cherry vine tomatoes also scored high in these respects.
Crowning glory of cooperation
Dutch grower’s association Harvest House, which supplies the tomatoes to the German market via their own export company T.N.I., is pleasantly surprised with the prize. “Grower Frank van Kleef of Royal Pride has been growing these vine tomatoes for about ten years now, for Netto Zuid, among other shops. This distinction isn’t just a token of appreciation, but it’s also the crowning glory of our long-term cooperation,” according to a spokesperson of Harvest House.
Sustainable production
Royal Pride is one of the most important players in the field of premium greenhouse tomatoes. The growers Frank van Kleef, Koert and Bart van den Ende grow products including the sweet cherry tomato Robino on about 52 hectares. Besides, Frank is one of the people behind Milieukeur and Planet Proof, the sustainable hallmark he founded in cooperation with Dutch environmental defence organisation Milieudefensie and colleague growers from Harvest House. Within his own greenhouses, there’s a lot of attention paid to sustainable production, energy saving and environmentally friendly production methods which have a prominent position.
For more information:
Harvest House BV
Honderdland 415
2676 LV Maasdijk, the Netherlands
T: +31 174 519 200
Royal Pride Holland BV
Wagenpad 12, 1775 RJ Middenmeer, the Netherlands
T: 0227 577 400