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tomatoes
Touting Tomatoes To Maximize Sales
merchandising review
Add volume and excitement
to this profit-generating cate- gory with solid merchandising.
hen Keith Cox, pro- duce category manager at K-VA-T Food Stores in Abingdon, VA, with 130
evolution in marketing as well. “Merchan- dising tomatoes has evolved considerably during the past 20 years, much in part to a slew of new types, varieties, and grower brands coming to life,” says Chris Veillon, chief marketing officer for Pure Flavor in Leamington, Ontario. “Gone are the days when the same tomato was used for every- thing in the kitchen, including sauce, salad, snack or sandwiches,” he says.
Stores that use comprehensive merchan- dising stand to profit even more from the tomato upsurge. “Placement, price and flavor profile should come into play before the product even hits the shelf,” says Rick Feighery, vice president of sales for Procacci Brothers Sales Corp. in Philadelphia. “Promotion is a huge percentage of tomato movement. It’s not about a one-week lift, it’s about proper placement to get repetitive weeks with increased sales.”
1: EVOLVE YOUR VARIETY
From the field-grown tomato to cluster, heirloom, greenhouse-grown and grape, new varieties stimulate sales. “The retail sector has seen various trends over the past decade,” says Dionysios Christou, vice president of marketing for Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. in Coral Gables,FL.“Theseincludetheintroductionof [tomatoes-on-the-vine], which drew consumers to hydroponic varieties more consistent in quality and flavor. The trend then returned to a focusonvine-ripevarieties.Recently,thegrape/ cocktail tomato segment grew rapidly.”
Chuck Weisinger, president of Weis Buy Produce in Fort Myers, FL, explains since the 1980’s the industry has seen dramatic shift in the tomato category and its business. “Field- grown Florida tomatoes continue to have primary usage at foodservice and for slicing on sandwiches,” he says. “The category has expanded with grape and cherry tomatoes grown and harvested in pints or 20-pound bulk. With the increased advent of hothouses we now have yellow flesh tomatoes, brown and white tomatoes, yellow grape tomatoes and cherry tomatoes in all sizes and shapes.”
The mainstays keep the category going but the new varieties add excitement says Ken White, director of sales for Procacci. “These bring new flavor profiles into play. Every year you get something new to promote.”
The explosion of varieties has been driven in part by the quest for flavor. “Flavor is a big thing in the tomato category now,” says Spano. “Flavor means not just brix levels, but having a nice balance of brix and acid. Toma- toes need that balance between acidic and sweet — something retail should very much consider when selecting product.”
Paradoxically, more variety can lead to more purchases by shoppers in the category asopposedtocannibalizingsales.“Wedoa lot of consumer studies and we see consumers will pick up several different varieties of tomatoes,” says Mucci’s Spano. “For example, shopperswillbuyourvarietypackbutstill pick up a beefsteak.”
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Y JODEAN ROBBINS
stores, started decades ago as a part-time produce clerk, the produce department only handled three different types of tomatoes. “We had a slicing tomato, a tray packed salad tomato, and some cherry tomatoes,” he says. “When I look at the category now, it’s amaz- ing how far it has come over the years. We currently carry 21 different types of tomatoes.”
The category’s appeal to a diverse demo- graphic group, profit importance and prolif- eration of options have given rise to active merchandising. “Tomatoes are very relevant to our profit and are one of our top three sellers,” says Cox. “Merchandising tomatoes has increased significantly. We promote some type of tomato almost every week — whether on ad or a temporary price reduction.”
Joe Spano, vice president of sales and marketingwithMucciFarmsinKingsville, Ontario, Canada, has seen the tomato category explode over the past 10 years. “Any major grocery chain today dedicates a major amount ofshelfspacetothetomatocategory,”hesays.
The evolution of the category means
76 / APRIL 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS