The Hoogsteder company, located in the Netherlands, has just received its first shipments of its new cherry tomato variety: the mini Red-Egg. “It is an elongated cluster cherry tomato. Given the success of the Red-Egg (elongated tomato produced in the Netherlands) in recent years, we decided to introduce this new reference on the market, in the cherry tomato category this time. This variety, the Pom Sweet Candy, is characterized by a very sweet taste with a Brix level of 9 to 11, reminiscent of older tomato varieties. We also selected it for its crunchiness and the fact that it can keep for up to 14 days. For years, together with our partner producers, we have also been trying to develop products that stand out for their taste and their quality, with a strong brand image. We want to promote the work and the efforts of our producers and therefore make sure that price is not the main reason for buying,” explains Guilhem Flammen, sales manager for the French market.
“This variety completes our range since our offer did not include any elongated cherry tomatoes yet. We sell it mainly in the Paris region through the Rungis market, where the first feedback has been very positive. We have exclusivity on the production in the Netherlands and Belgium, and we are able to provide our clients with mini Red-Egg tomatoes from week 14 to week 46. The production currently spreads over 3 hectares. Depending on the results we will obtain this year, we could double the production area in 2022.”
Nowadays, there are very few elongated cherry tomatoes on the market. “The demand is high for this type of product these days, so we have no problem selling the mini Red-Egg. Generally speaking, since the beginning of the season, we’ve had ups and downs. The demand was slower due to the unfavorable weather and a consumption pattern that was different from last year. It was therefore difficult to anticipate the market evolution for all actors of the sector. But we now observe that the tomato volumes available on the market have decreased significantly. This year, the peak of production was at the end of June. We hope that prices will increase in order to better remunerate our producers.”
For more information:
Guilhem Flammen
Hoogsteder BV
Phone: +31 10 266 18 05
g.flammen@thegreenery.com
www.thegreenery.com/fr