Ever since the infamous Wasserbombe affaire in 1993 many breeders have been active, not just in improving the image of the Dutch tomato, but in creating a product that is miles away from the watery, tasteless tomato of old. Growers introduced a new era with tomatoes that were more tasty and more distinguished, like Campari and Aranca.
Campari has made a name for itself with the Tasty Tom label. “We have worked hard to introduce a tomato that met people’s expectations,” says Chris Groot. “To get this far we had to monitor market demands for years. Eventually the Campari and the Aranca did the trick. The Campari in particular really took off. They are selling them in the US now. Shoppers put ‘Campari’ or ‘Tasty Tom’ on their grocery list instead of ‘tomatoes’. It went from a trademark to a consumers’ brand.”
But with the flood of new speciality varieties, aren’t breeders afraid of overexposure? “What you need to do is keep shifting your perspective,” says Chris. “There are many ways to distinguish yourself. So far we have been carving out a niche by focusing on taste. But what about health, for instance? The technology of genetics has given us access to all aspects of the product: like how to make it more healthy. We could market a cucumber that lowers your cholesterol. Just think of the possibilities!”







Announcements
Job Offers
- Packing Supervisor
- International Account Manager
- Head Grower Greenhouse Canada
- Post Entry Quarantine Facility Manager
- Economic Policy Officer Agri-Tech Kentucky
- Licensing Manager North America
- Junior Sales Executive
- Fruit Breeder/Trait Discovery Scientist
- General Manager
- Regional Sales Manager – DACH Region

Specials more
Top 5 -yesterday
- Berg River farmers avoid loadshedding through pilot project with Eskom
- GLOBAL MARKET OVERVIEW BANANAS
- Results of retractable cooling roof trials with strawberries in Mexico
- Fruit Logistica magazine FreshPlaza/Primeur now available online
- “We’re reaching a point where conventional costs more than organic”
Top 5 -last week
Top 5 -last month
- El Niño will probably add to misery of SA farmers
- Avocado consumption reduces total cholesterol and Ldl C
- Criminal ‘food sellers’ are posing problems in South Africa
- "I am destroying my celery because they humiliate us offering just a few cents"
- Pomegranate grower gets off expensive chemical carousel
Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here
Other news in this sector:
- 2023-02-03 Northern Spain: Villages in La Rioja produce 77,000 tons of mushrooms each year
- 2023-02-03 Vegetable prices shoot up in Coimbatore
- 2023-02-03 How can young people be won over to chicory?
- 2023-02-03 Rapid increase in the prices of carrots on Ukrainian market
- 2023-02-03 Tough season for Belgian winter vegetables
- 2023-02-03 "Due to the cold snap, we had to end our Brussels sprouts season early"
- 2023-02-03 Carrot prices in Ukraine increase every day although price levels are already at record high
- 2023-02-03 First Dutch zucchini crop of the season: "Not only pretty but tasty too"
- 2023-02-03 Mushrooms emerge from the shadows in pesticide-free production push
- 2023-02-03 Chicory: "To reverse the downward [consumption] trend you must create awareness among young people"
- 2023-02-03 Organic purple pointed cabbage: a trendy vegetable that could be here to stay
- 2023-02-02 Malaysian Trade Ministry denies claims of 160% price hike for some vegetables
- 2023-02-02 More than 5,000 tons of tomatoes arrived in Russia from Turkmenistan since the start of '23
- 2023-02-02 A cherry tomato that tastes like summer even in winter
- 2023-02-02 “The damage would be much greater if these frosts had happened a month from now”
- 2023-02-02 Italian iceberg lettuce grower seeks new markets in Germany
- 2023-02-02 In 2022, the average price paid to Andalusian tomato producers was the highest of the last ten years
- 2023-02-02 NZ broccoli prices varying sharply as wet weather continues
- 2023-02-02 Kenya: Tomato prices increased sharply over the last month
- 2023-02-02 Smaller chicory yield expected in Belgium