If customers are prepared to pay for quality, it is up to each grower to assess where their own types of business fit best into the chain, said Sainsbury's tomato buyer Tristan Kitchener at last week's Tomato Growers' Association conference in Coventry.

The tomato category is one of the most segmented within produce, he said, extending from the lower price end of loose and family packs up through beef and cherry, to the premium price on-the-vine lines.

What concerns Kitchener is that as the market continues to mature even speciality products are in danger of being commoditised. He believes that future growth will come mainly through enhanced flavour. "But we must remain focused on range innovation and not range duplication," he stressed. "I would even argue that Aranca and Flavorino grown on-the-vine and sold in most retailers are too similar for customers to differentiate."

One possible solution he posed was that they could be sold, not only by brand and sub brand, but like apples by variety.

He also outlined the need for better customer communication. "The most common question asked at tomato shows is 'why can't we buy tomatoes that taste like they used to?'" he said. "Arguing that today's varieties taste better, he cited Piccolo and Santa as being far richer in flavour than those found in the average garden. "What is more contentious is the lack of consistent flavour... guaranteed week in and week out," he added.

The tomato market continues to evolve. Over the last three years, cherry tomatoes as a proportion of the total offer have remainder static, while round tomatoes have fallen from 43 per cent to 38 per cent. Vine tomatoes have increased from 21 per cent to 26 per cent and there has been growth in plum tomatoes - a sub-category that includes baby varieties.

Topics