“Market for fresh tomato blend, now and in future”

Making soups and sauces from greenhouse products. It is not the first time that growers have looked for new markets for their fruit vegetables. The Greenblend growers, however, do things differently.

Soups, sauces, ketchup, dried tomatoes, chutney and even wine. A small selection of products those growers have developed from their greenhouse vegetables in the past years. And now a tomato blend can be added to that group of products – a primary product for, among other things, soups or sauces, made from 100% tomatoes. But differently than most companies, Greenblend was not founded to work with residual products, or to take care of temporary overproduction. “We create a fresher primary product from our Dutch tomatoes than industrial tomato pulp,” Ben van Waveren says. “We see a market for that, now and in the future.”

Greenblend was founded by shareholders Agro Care, Belt-Kommer, Kesgro, Lans, Royal Pride Holland and Combivliet. The growers participate in a number of other initiatives, such as Greenpack. They took no chances when creating the tomato pulp, Van Waveren has been working on the preparations for over four years. Doing research into the machines, into the market and into the possibilities. Last summer, during a study trip to New York, it was decided to make the plans real. “In New York we saw the possibilities of fresh and healthy products,” says Hans Derks of Harvest House, growers association and selling organisation behind Greenblend. “We see a market for that in the Netherlands as well.”

And that is also how the blend has entered the market: as a fresh and healthy product. Initiators want to emphasise that no residual products or tomatoes of lesser quality are used. “There are hardly class two products with tomatoes anyway. There is nothing wrong with the tomatoes used in the blend, they are of excellent quality. We have chosen this product because we can add value to the tomatoes and because we see a market for this product. We believe in it,” Van Waveren explains. Will that not make the product much more expensive than other primary products with tomatoes? According to Van Waveren it will not be that bad, due to efficient processing, cultivation and transport of the tomatoes. Furthermore, the blend is completely different from similar products currently available in supermarkets. “It is a fresh product, made from 100% Dutch quality tomatoes. These have been sustainably grown, as regards water consumption, organic crop protection and transport. It does not get more CSR.” As for flavour, the product cannot be compared with, for example, tinned tomatoes or tomato sauce from a carton. The blend is not concentrated or strained off, but contains only aseptically processed tomatoes, and no artificial additions.

The production facility is with Greenpack, in Maasdijk. “Tomatoes arrive here anyway to get packed,” Van Waveren says. “We just work in a different part of the building now.” Beside this new production space in which an advanced production line has been realised, a space has also been cleared as a comprehensive cooking and tasting room, the food studio. It is not just used for cooking, potential customers and product developers are invited there as well. “We want to show what the product can do, from factory to kitchen,” says Caroline Louwerse, who is responsible for marketing.

Sales go through Harvest House. The tomato blend is presented in different ways: for retail as a convenience product for consumers, and for industry and food service as a primary product. Both trade channels work differently than that of fresh fruits and vegetables, Derks notes. “With retail it is placed elsewhere in supermarkets anyway, and the product will have different buyers. But that also holds up for industry, manufacturers ask completely different questions.” Besides, a sauce could perhaps become fresher or tastier, but perhaps manufacturers do not want that at all. “The final product still has to meet consumer’s expectations.” Changes on the shelves are also different. Fresh products might change weekly, but that is not always the case in other departments. Yet the background in the fruit vegetable sector has added value. “People in retail often already know you. Because they have confidence in you, you have an easier in.”