Jacob is marketing Ruby Breizh tomatoes for the first time this year. This variety of olive-shaped grape tomatoes has assets that could quickly arouse the interest of German and British consumers. “Each cluster has 5 or 6 fruits. Compared to other grape tomatoes, the Ruby Breizh has a more pronounced taste, the color of its flesh is very intense, and the tomato is not very juicy,” explains Agnès Dréau of the innovation and quality department at Jacob. “This is especially convenient for the preparation of sandwiches or burgers. So the variety can be really interesting for countries where the consumption of sandwiches and burgers is part of the culture, as is the case in Germany and England,” adds Valérie Guéguen, sales manager of the company.
Louis Jacob also decided to reintroduce this forgotten variety to the French retail market for pre-packed products or for the drive-thru, thanks to the cardboard tray from Sofrupack for large-scale marketing. “For this variety, we work in partnership with Rijk Zwaan.”
Produced by Prince de Bretagne for the first time this year
The variety has been grown for several years in Belgium already, but Jacob decided to cultivate it as well for the first time this year, entrusting its exclusive production to Prince de Bretagne. “We ship and export fruit and vegetables of Prince de Bretagne. Although we also sell strawberries, cabbage, some older vegetables, and artichokes, the tomato remains our core business. We are specialists in this product and leaders when it comes to marketing it. We wanted to propose our own brand right away, Ruby Breizh, which guarantees rigorously selected fruit packed in cardboard trays meeting the requirements of the AGEC law.” The rest of the production will be sold under the Prince de Bretagne brand in packages of 6kg.
The Ruby Breizh campaign started at the beginning of April and will end in late October. The peak of the season will be reached within a couple of weeks. “We will then be able to offer 33 pallets per week. This year, we are testing the variety on the market. If the feedback is positive and the demand is good, as we expect it to be, we will arrange our production plans for next year. In terms of production, this will not be an issue at all. The producers are very interested in signing contracts.”
Besides the Ruby Breizh, Jacob sells a whole range of tomatoes and strawberries in the summer, as well as cabbage, old vegetables, and artichokes in the winter, both in France and abroad.
For more information:
Valérie Guéguen
Sales manager
Phone: +33 6 23 50 04 92
valerie@jacobsa.fr