Stories - 24-01-2023
Beef tomato Tafury can boost the entire segment
“Tafury RZ enables us to offer our customers a tasty and visually appealing beef tomato as a way of stimulating the market for medium-sized and large tomatoes,” says Christopher Juranek from REWE Germany. The food retail chain has been carrying this Rijk Zwaan tomato under its REWE Bio label since winter 2021/2022. It is supplied by Biosabor, an organic production company based in Spain. Rijk Zwaan is presenting this promising tomato variety in line with its theme of ‘Freshly Forward, from Foundation to Future’ at Fruit Logistica in Berlin.
Different look and exceptional taste
“Marmande beef tomatoes are exceptionally tasty and very attractive alongside the standard assortment. Medium-sized Tafury has a different look: it is the popular red colour with just slightly darker nuances. It’s a strong new variety for our private-label organic range,” comments Christopher Juranek, Senior Category Buyer Vegetables at REWE Germany. With 3,700 stores and an annual turnover of €26.5 billion, REWE Germany is one of the nation’s leading food retail companies and forms part of the REWE Group, which is active in 22 European countries.
Tafury ticks all the boxes
REWE Germany sources Tafury from the Spanish company Biosabor, which grows premium-quality 100%-organic vegetables for the key European markets. José Antonio López, Production Director at Biosabor, is likewise very impressed with Tafury: “It combines an appealing flavour and high Brix value with the texture of a traditional tomato. For us, it is important that we can offer tasty, high-quality products. Tafury ticks all the boxes.”
Positive turnaround in the tomato market
However, Tafury is more than just a delicious beef tomato. The variety has the potential to boost the entire market segment of medium-sized and large tomatoes, according to Juranek: “In 2022 we saw the first positive signs of a turnaround in this market. Consumer buying behaviour is changing; people are more price-sensitive, which is driving demand for bigger tomatoes. This is a noticeable difference compared with the three to five years prior to that, when the market declined steadily and resulted in medium-sized and large tomatoes being under-represented in food retail.”
Very promising sales figures
In view of this under-representation, the turnaround over the past year offers new opportunities, continues REWE Germany’s Senior Category Buyer Vegetables: “The medium-sized and large tomato segment is extremely interesting. Tafury enables us to offer our customers a tasty and visually appealing beef tomato variety as a way of stimulating this market segment. Tafury is sold in packs of three units on a tray. This is a bold choice in the organic sector, but it maintains the price point plus it offers customers the optimal balance between price and presentation. The sales figures are very promising.”
On a shared journey towards a Fresh Future
Both REWE and Biosabor are keen to continue working together with Rijk Zwaan to innovate the fresh produce category, both now and in the future. Juranek: “At REWE, we like being involved in developing new products. Sharing knowledge creates a win-win situation for both sides.” Biosabor’s José Antonio López is equally enthusiastic about innovation: “Novel products with outstanding flavour drive the organic market forward.”
Join Rijk Zwaan in moving Freshly Forward
‘Freshly Forward, from Foundation to Future’ – this is the theme Rijk Zwaan has chosen to encapsulate its roadmap for tackling today’s challenges, together with its partners. We will be presenting robust and resilient solutions as well as inspiring innovations at Fruit Logistica 2023 (Hall 1.2, D-13). One of the highlights is Tatayoyo, a premium snack pepper that has been nominated for the 2023 Fruit Logistica Innovation Award. You are also welcome to visit the Rijk Zwaan Retail Centre in Berlin – the company’s very own experience and consumer research facility.
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