With the cocktail tomato gaining a firm foothold in the wider tomato category across numerous markets in recent years, Dutch vegetable specialist Rijk Zwaan has aimed to secure a strong position for itself.
Consumers lean on the cocktail tomato category for taste, value, consistent quality and the versatility of the fruit when it comes to a range of salad options – and Rijk Zwaan’s Brioso RZ variety offers precisely what growers and retailers and looking for, according to marketing specialist Johan Vis.“Brioso RZ provides certainty,” Vis explains.
“It’s a flavoursome, aromatic variety with a good yield throughout the whole year thanks to its high truss productivity, including under artificial lighting. The nice, flat trusses make it easy to pack, and this dependable variety enables high-tech growers to offer their customers supply reliability.
“For retailers, the consistently high-quality all year round makes the cocktail tomato a must in their fresh produce assortment,” he adds. “They don’t want to disappoint consumers by running out of stock. The variety has been meeting all those expectations for years, and that’s its key strength.”
In what is a mature and crowded category, Rijk Zwaan’s breeders are continuously looking for strong varieties like Brioso RZ, although any new varieties must be distinctly better than what the market currently has to offer.
“For each commodity within the tomato category we’re seeking the best variety that offers certainty and high profitability – that’s our primary aim,” Vis continues. “The second breeding aim is to develop premium products – tomato varieties that stand out by visibly excelling in terms of taste and appearance.”
In both these cases, collaboration with partners is the key to success, he outlines, with the right retail position depending on a number of key aspects coming together; the intrinsic strength of the variety matching the per-kilo price, the relative price compared with other tomatoes, and the packaging.
“The product can be a success if all those factors are in balance,” Vis adds. “To achieve this, it’s extremely important to exchange knowledge, experience and, increasingly, data.”
