“Good tastes like more”

In the Netherlands, it is hard for consumers to avoid Looye Honing tomatoes. TV commercials and social media are making them increasingly well-known and popular. Three-kilogram Looye Honing TOVs is a greengrocer product. "We allow only the most flavorful, nicest-looking tomatoes to enter stores as Looye Honing Tomatoes," begins Job Struijk, GFS International Account Manager. "We like going the extra mile for greengrocers."

Looye Honing tomatoes is an honorary title as well as a seal of quality. Everything revolves around quality and flavor because once you have tasted Looye Honing tomatoes, you will want more, says Job. "Most of the sales are repeat purchases. An important reason people keep buying Looye Honing tomatoes is that it lets them create a moment of indulgence for themselves."

Countless choices
Shoppers always want a fantastic flavor experience, which is why Looye Kwekers monitors Looye Honing tomatoes' flavor very closely. "Tasting and judging are essential steps in our selection process and especially for the Looye Honing tomatoes we supply to wholesalers. Only the very best, tastiest tomatoes are classified as Looye Honing tomatoes, which means making countless choices."

"All those cultivation strategy choices are based on achieving the tastiest tomatoes. Whether it's variety, feeding schedule, or time of harvesting, for example, we could opt to harvest all the bunches at once. We choose to harvest the trusses when the bottom tomatoes are also red. We assess each cluster separately. Not efficient, but it ensures so much flavor,"  explains Job.

Select few get the honor
Post-harvest, only 20 to 25% of the TOVs are deemed worthy of the Looye Honing tomato title. Each bunch is first thoroughly inspected. The tomatoes must taste good, which you can tell by looking at them. "We examine the tomatoes carefully, and our taste panel takes weekly samples to monitor the flavor. Those few trusses that receive that honorary title have a stylish package, which protects them optimally on their journey to stores."

Sales support
Looye's responsibility does not stop there, though. "We do everything we can to support the greengrocers when it comes to selling Looye Honing tomatoes," Job points out. "For instance, every year, we develop new POS materials like price tag clips and a Looye counter mat. We also create cool giveaways for clients. Think of reusable Looye vegetable bags or, like last year, a Looye cookbook."

"Everything must be in line with the brand experience. Yet, the most important thing remains tasting the tomatoes because 'tasting is believing.' So if cultivation allows, we happily provide test products to boost extra sales and the experience. Businesses are welcome to call or email me, or they can approach their regular wholesaler," Job concludes.