Plum cherry tomatoes are tomatoes with a slightly pointed appearance, and they are suitable for many applications. This year, on the authority of Coöperatie Hoogstraten, PCG did a consumer research that measured the popularity of various plum cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes were judged on tastiness, flavour, texture and appearance. The willingness to purchase based on taste and based on appearance was also considered. Sixty consumers judged the tomatoes on 10, 11 and 12 May 2016. It was a blind tasting, the consumers did not know which strain or type of tomato they were tasting.
Sweetelle
Sweetelle is marketed as a snack tomato under the Bellino brand. “It is remarkable that this strain did very well in various fields in this test,” says Natalie Snijers from Coöperatie Hoogstraten. “Research shows that consumers like all three of the varieties Sweetelle, Angelle and Babeno, without significant differences between the strains. The scores show more consumers think the tomatoes from the Sweetelle strain are very tasty compared to tomatoes from the strains Angelle and Babeno, which have slightly lower scores. All three also score high in the flavour category, without any major differences. On a scale of 1 (not good at all) to 9 (very good), the Sweetelle strain tomatoes score an average 6.4, compared to varieties Angelle (5.9) and Babeno (5.8). The tomatoes from the Sweetelle strain are firmest and significantly firmer than the tomatoes from the Angelle strain. All tomatoes were considered appealing in the test, although the Sweetelle tomatoes are significantly more attractive than the others. Besides, on average, people were more inclined to buy the Sweetelle strain. The red colour of the tomatoes is ideal for tomatoes from the Sweetelle and Angelle varieties. The babeno tomatoes are significantly redder than tomatoes from the other two strains, and too dark according to the consumers.”
“Making a difference”
The total Sweetelle area of cultivation company Den Berk Délice amounts to nearly 12 hectares. The total Bellino area from four combined cultivators is 21 hectares. Den Berk has 2.8 hectares of illuminated cultivation and nine hectares ‘conventional’ cultivation of the Sweetelle strain. “Den Berk prefers growing with the customers to whom we supply this product through Coöperatie Hoogstraten,” says Paul van Mierop from Den Berk Délice. “We have already had the Sweetelle strain specifically for a number of years, under brand name Bellino. As Bellino cultivators, we are convinced that this is the strain with which we can achieve the quality and the flavour that we pursue, and that will allow us to make a difference. We have to work hard because of the growth in this segment, but with our vision of flavour and quality, we strongly believe in this. The coming season, the segment will grow considerably everywhere, and that is why we have to hold on to our values even more strongly!”
For more information:
Veiling Hoogstraten
Natalie Snijers
Veiling Hoogstraten
Natalie Snijers