To keep abreast of consumer demands, ZZ2 is constantly researching new tomato product lines.

This involves a team of agronomy and marketing experts investigating the feasibility of new trends and opportunities. “Worldwide there is a swing towards smaller, bite-size fruit,” says Clive Garrett, marketing manager of ZZ2. “But in Africa, the classic round tomato remains a nutritional staple to the biggest part of the population.”

ZZ2’s latest offering in bite-size produce, is the Medley Mix. It is a punnet (600g) of mini tomatoes with six vibrant varieties of sun-sweetened red, brown, yellow, orange and pink tomatoes. The product took 18 months to research, cultivate and has now been put on the market. “This selection is ideal for colourful salads and gives enthusiastic cooks a balance of sweet and tartness in one punnet,” says Clive. “The Medley Mix complements our existing range of mini tomatoes of Romanita, Spanish Santé and Yellow Drop.

The popularity of the saladette tomato variety has prompted ZZ2 to produce a new packing line, called La Roccia. The La Roccia tomato is firm, rich red in colour and has a fleshy texture. It is excellent for pasta sauces, chutneys, curries and sisheba. “Our La Roccia comes in convenient 1 kg bags and is popular among those who love spending time making stews.”

Convenience and waste reduction are trends in packaging that ZZ2 aspire to adhere to. “Our Spanish Santé is a sweet mini tomato. Reacting to consumers’ need to snack on these healthy little taste bombs, ZZ2 now has 175 g snack cups, convenient as in-between meals hunger busters,” says Clive. In the Boekenhoutbult packhouse, a flow-wrap machine has reduced use of the amount of packaging material, cutting out additional information stickers.”

Health is non-negotiable to ZZ2 and with this in mind, the company has embarked on a way of farming that has been trademarked as Nature Farming®, or Natuurboerdery®. All of ZZ2’s produce carries the Nature Farming® stamp. This guarantees consumers’ food that is produced in a sustainable manner and is in line with conserving the natural habitat surrounding production units.

To celebrate ZZ2’s various tomato product lines, ZZ2 and Food Lover’s Market have joined forces to educate consumers on how to best use ZZ2’s products. Consumers are invited to visit their local Food Lover’s Market, have a look at the in-store banners and follow the social media pages. R4 000 in Food Lover’s Market gift vouchers are up for grabs in the weekly competition.