"Storytelling, that's what we need to do more"

With the motto 'succes bereik je samen' ('success you achieve together'), the Dutch producer organization Prominent has been the tomato specialist par excellence for almost 25 years. The club of 30 growers with 380 hectares provides year-round, in particular the German retail sector, with the tastiest tomatoes. They have chosen Brioso RZ for years for their cocktail tomato. The cooperation with Rijk Zwaan goes beyond just this variety, says Wim van den Berg, marketing manager at Prominent.

"The cocktail tomato is a strong product on the shelf, because it offers value for money. It is one of the thirteen segments that we as Prominent supply all year round, in addition to other vine tomatoes and snack tomatoes. The diversity of tomatoes on the shelf is great, also thanks to breeding. Because of varieties such as Cappricia RZ and Brioso RZ, the turnover could grow throughout Europe. When is a variety good? When it is a valuable product for all links in the chain. In terms of cultivation it must be stable, produce enough kilos, and be suitable to cultivate under lighting. The presentation and color are very important for a retailer. The consumer appreciates the aromatic taste and the right size, because a cocktail tomato fits perfectly in the salad. Brioso RZ has it all. That is why the variety has a long life cycle."

"In order to maintain a strong position in a competitive market, we continuously monitor the preferences of growers, retailers and consumers. Not our gut feelings, but quantitative and qualitative data must offer guidance. When the wishes change, we respond to them. We collect more and more data and share knowledge with Rijk Zwaan. We have a longstanding relationship that goes beyond just choosing varieties. For example in the Retail Center of Rijk Zwaan in Berlin we had sessions with growers of Prominent about the German retail, the positioning of Brioso RZ and the choices of the consumer. The Retail Center is a good facility to distance oneself from the product and to look more at the shelf. Thereby we do not to look for niches, but for the volumes of the future."

"We do more together. Last year in June, we organized in Rotterdam with Love my Salad - the social salad network of Rijk Zwaan - a food blogger event about tomatoes. The cocktail tomato played an important role in this. We invited German and Austrian food bloggers, whereby Prominent-growers with a lot of feeling told their story about sustainable tomato cultivation. Storytelling, we need to do that more. We also had them experience the taste of the tomato, even of the crown. What do you actually taste, was the question? A chef gave an inspiring tomato workshop and presented the product in all sorts of preparations. This is how we want to give a push to the popularity of the versatile tomato."