DELTA, OH – While cooler temps and shorter days may be upon us across the U.S., NatureFresh™ Farms is bringing a vibrant splash of color and warmth to produce departments as the company begins picking specialty tomatoes and TOV from its new Delta, Ohio, greenhouse facility. With an emphasis on quality and flavor, NatureFresh™ shares that retailers will see a renewed interest in the produce aisle this winter.

“Every flavor provides a sensory experience that distinguishes itself,” states Chris Veillon, Director of Marketing. “A tomato’s flavor is a consumer’s most immediate and visceral experience with the variety. NatureFresh™ developed its TOMZ™ Snacking Tomatoes to meet consumer expectations that when they enjoy a snacking tomato in July, October, or February, that the flavor is plentiful and consistent each and every time. Why? Because the same grower produced that same tomato from the same farm regardless of the season.”

NatureFresh™ brings an extensive variety of Ohio grown tomatoes that include red, yellow, orange grape tomatoes, red cherry tomatoes, sweet red cocktail tomatoes, and mixed medley tomatoes to its portfolio. And their new look packs a punch. All snacking tomatoes are being featured under the TOMZ™ snacking tomato brand and NatureFresh™ has already been shipping the popular OhioRed™ Tomatoes On The Vine since last February. The company will begin shipping OhioRed™ Roma and OhioRed™ Beefsteak tomatoes later this winter.

The new Ohio Proud themed TOMZ™ top seal packaging debuted at this year’s PMA Fresh Summit in Orlando to the delight of retailers across the industry. NatureFresh™ is reducing the plastic content of its packages by up to 25% by transitioning to top seal packaging.

High-impact creative across all products enhance the packaging presentation with specific call-outs to support the State of Ohio Department of Agriculture Ohio Proud program and grown in the USA creative, according to a press release.

“We want to ensure that consumers clearly understand that this product is grown in Ohio,” Ray Wowryk, Director of Business Development, shares. NatureFresh™ also included a U.S. flag in the design and increased the font size of the country of origin to avoid any confusion on store shelves.

“Growing our tomatoes year-round in Ohio significantly reduces the food miles that the product must travel to store level. We are increasing shelf life by picking the fruit off the vine at a later color stage to ensure we deliver maximum flavor,” adds Wowryk.

In addition to the new product and packaging development at NatureFresh™, the company is also in the midst of a major expansion in Ohio with up to 180 acres of year-round production planned for the Delta facility. Phase 1 (15.30 acres) + 2 (15.30 acres) have been completed to date with Phase 3 (15.30 acres) to be completed in December. This brings the total of new construction to 45 acres in the last 12 months. With an abundance of off peak power available from the grid, NatureFresh™ is using High Pressure Sodium lighting to supplement its growing practices to be able to grow year-round in Delta.

It is exciting times at NatureFresh™, and exciting times for the highly competitive greenhouse grown tomato category.

NatureFresh™ Farms