Fifty-year-old Worcestershire tomato grower Haven Nurseries is enjoying new-found success with its Drews of Worcester tomato juice, which is selling through Budgens and at local markets.
“Our main activity lies in the sale of fresh tomatoes on the vine to the retail market,” said Haven’s Paul Drew. “We began to realise that some of the fruit had ripened before the majority of the vine … leaving us with a surplus of tomatoes and little chance of getting a good return on them… We finally decided that creating a juice would be the most viable and sustainable route to market.”
Haven took research from tasting sessions and channelled it into the pasteurisation process. “The feedback we received was positive, but reality dictated that we had to increase the size of the bottles in order to create a sustainable business.” The results have been impressive, with surplus tomatoes now bringing in nearly £15,000 of sales every year and with potential for further expansion soon to be exploited.
The firm will spend the next six months focusing on boosting sales and exploring the possibility of launching additional tomato-based products.
