Consumers want innovative shapes and retailers find square tomatoes easier to pack
Belgian company and national tomato trendsetter Den Berk Délice has announced the development of a small square tomato called “Square Délice”.
In an interview with the Belgian TV channel TRV, Hans Van Gool, who is in charge of the project, said that the idea for the new image of the tomato came from consumers. The survey, which the company conducted in partnership with a marketing research agency, showed that buyers want new products not only in the color of the innovation, not only in the color of the fruit. 39% of respondents said that the shape of the tomatoes should also be innovative.
After weighing and considering everything, the company’s management decided that, compared to traditional round tomatoes, square ones are really more convenient to pack and easy to stack, and consumers will like cutting – each slice will have a perfectly uniform size.
In Square Délice’s breeding process, his team genetically manipulated the tomato using CRISPR technology to cut out the gene “AUCSIA1” from the DNA, which gives the rounded shape of the tomato, so that the tomato naturally grows square.
Thus, the line of exclusive round tomatoes, from dark purple, dark brown and golden green, will receive another attractive product.
In growing its tomatoes, the company is investing in LEDs, which provide more light with less energy. Diffuse glass is also used in greenhouses, it scatters incoming light for better absorption by plants. Modern technologies provide high performance without the additional addition of energy, water, nutrients. All water that enters the greenhouses is collected in pools, purified and reused for irrigation.
