Commodity: Tomatoes
Varieties
- Beefsteak Tomatoes
- Dried Tomatoes
- Grape Tomatoes
- Greenhouse/Hydroponic Tomatoes
- Heirloom Tomatoes
- Plum/Roma Tomatoes on the Vine
- Red Cherry Tomatoes
- Red Cherry Tomatoes on the Vine
- Red Cocktail Tomatoes
- Red Cocktail Tomatoes on the Vine
- Red Pear/Teardrop Tomatoes
- Red Plum/Roma Tomatoes
- Red Tomatoes on the Vine
- Round Tomatoes
- Vine-Ripe Tomatoes
- Yellow Cherry Tomatoes
- Yellow Cherry Tomatoes on the Vine
- Yellow Pear/Teardrop Tomatoes
- Yellow Plum/Roma Tomatoes
- Yellow Tomatoes
- Yellow Tomatoes on the Vine
Facts
- Tomatoes can help improve your health. Diets containing tomatoes have been shown to improve heart health. Tomatoes contain vitamin C, which can improve the immune system’s ability to fight disease. Tomatoes also contain lycopene, which has been shown to fight cancer. Lycopene is found in higher concentrations in cooked tomatoes. Studies show the lycopene in tomatoes may help maintain healthy bones.
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the following nutrient content descriptors for tomatoes: low-fat, saturated fat-free, sodium-free (must state that tomatoes contain less than 5 mg sodium per 85 g tomato), cholesterol-free, low in calories, a good source of vitamin A and high in vitamin C.
Sales Strategies
- Tomatoes are extremely versatile so pair them up with other products, including salsa ingredients, bacon, lettuce, bread, bagged salad, taco shells and spaghetti sauce ingredients.
- Tomatoes are available year-round and many households purchase them every week. Promote tomatoes throughout the year.
- Fall: Include tomatoes in football game-day promotions as they are a popular topping for burgers and in homemade salsa. Offer grape tomatoes as part of back-to-school promotions as they are the perfect size for the lunch box.
- Winter: Include tomatoes in holiday promotions as part of a salad. Encourage consumers to purchase tomatoes for a hearty wintertime meal of spaghetti with homemade sauce. Promote tomatoes during the Super Bowl as a base for the ever-popular salsa.
- Spring: Offer tomatoes as part of a springtime salad promotion. Include tomatoes in Cinco de Mayo promotions as no Mexican celebration is complete without salsa.
- Summer: Promote tomatoes as part of summertime grilling promotions as they are a good topping for burgers and other grilled sandwiches.
- Offer samples of grape tomatoes to encourage consumers to consider them as a snack.
Dynamic Displays
- Offer variety in your tomato display. Include beefsteak, roma, grape, cherry and on-the-vine options for consumers.
- Don’t refrigerate tomatoes and make sure consumers know tomatoes are better when stored at room temperature.
- Avoid stacking tomatoes to keep the bottom layer from getting crushed.
- If you stock stem-on tomatoes, be sure they all face the same way to avoid puncturing them with the stems. Leaving the stems on retains the farm-fresh smell of tomatoes.
- Give tomatoes plenty of room and keep the display well-stocked. Consumers will be looking for tomatoes, so make them easy to find.
- Place tomatoes next to avocados as the color contrast creates an eye-catching display.
Food Service
- Peeling tomatoes can be difficult. Make it easier by boiling them for 30 seconds. Let them cool, then peel.
- To easily remove the seeds from a tomato, cut it in half crosswise, then gently squeeze the tomato in the palm of your hand.
- Offer tomatoes in salads and on salad bars.
- Chopped tomatoes are a tasty addition to omelets.
- Use tomatoes as a base for salsa and marinara sauce.
- Slice tomatoes and use them to top sandwiches and burgers.
In The Backroom
25-lb. cartons, loose 20-lb. flats/cartons 3-layer lugs 2-layer lugs cherry and grape 12 1-pint baskets green 10-, 20-, and 25-lb. cartons, loose plum or roma 25-lb. cartons loose greenhouse 15-lb. flats, 1-layer 7-kilo flats, 1-layer RPC – 6409, 6411, 6413, 6416, 6419, 6420, 6423, 6425, 6426
fresh tomatoes U.S. No. 1 U.S. combination U.S. No. 2 U.S. No. 3 greenhouse U.S. No. 1 U.S. No. 2
Temperature: mature-green or pink, 62 to 68 F, 16.7 to 20 C Relative humidity: 85-88% Mist: no Typical shelf life: mature-green 21 to 28 days; pink, 7 to 14 days Do not refrigerate Highly sensitive to freezing injury. (Likely to suffer injury by one light freezing.) Susceptible to chilling injury (Damage sometimes is not apparent until produce is returned to a higher temperature. At temperatures below 55 F, 13 C, tomatoes are subject to chill injury and lose flavor quickly.) Never stack more than two layers high, and keep product stem up to protect tomato shoulders. Because most tomatoes are picked mature but not totally ripe, they will continue ripening in transit. Tomatoes produce ethylene, a hormone that stimulates ripening. If tomatoes have not reached the appropriate color by the time they reach the local distribution center, their ripening process will be speeded up. Ethylene treatment applied at shipping point starts the ripening process and assures more uniformly ripe fruit upon arrival at the destination point and shortens the period between harvest and display, therefore maintaining a higher degree of vitamin C.
Fresh Trends
- 53% of consumers said they purchased tomatoes in the past year.
- 67% of consumer said they use tomatoes in salads, and 63% said they use them as an ingredient in a recipe.
- Shoppers earning more than $100,000 annually and those age 50+ were the most likely overall to buy the vegetable.
ft2020_tomatoes (1.14 MB)
