CHICAGO — In the tomato category, there is a penchant to go big — with larger varieties, such as Beefsteak types — or go small — with the ever-growing grape and cherry types that have found a niche as a snack item. But there are few options in between.

NatureSweet believes it will fill a void with its new mid-sized Jubilee tomato.

Mike Joergensen, vice president of marketing at NatureSweet, based in San Antonio, TX, said each Jubilee tomato yields several slices, making it the perfect sandwich tomato.

“When you slice a Beefsteak for a sandwich, you have at least half of the tomato left over,” he said. “That gets put into the refrigerator and it eventually gets thrown out. With the Jubilee, you use the whole tomato for a sandwich, so there is no waste.”

Mike Joergensen and Olivia Zaleski of NatureSweet promoted (l-r) Glory, Jubilee and Constellation tomato packs at United Fresh.Joergensen said fear of waste is one of the leading impediments to produce purchases among consumers. The size of the Jubilee is one way to alleviate some concern about waste, but the Jubilee packs also carry a “best by” date, with a guarantee of 21 days of shelf life.

“We know of no other tomatoes with a ‘best by’ date, so I believe this is a first for the category,” said Joergensen.

In addition to good shelf life, the Jubilee variety carries a high Brix level of at least 5.8, according to Joergensen.

Jubilee is available in a five-count retail pack as well as a 12-count club pack, which made its debut in May. Current marketing efforts are concentrated in the West, but Joergensen said he expects availability will be nationwide in six to 12 months.

“We’re very excited about this,” said Joergensen. “As a company, we’ve been working on this for the last seven years. While we are continuing to refine it, we feel we have a very good start.”

Also at the United Fresh expo, NatureSweet unveiled a new pack for its “Glory” brand cherry tomatoes and introduced its “Constellation” brand tomato medley pack.

“Glory is the same red cherry tomato variety we have had for the last 15 years, but we are now packing it in a new clamshell that is round instead of square,” he said. “The new pack gives the fruit better visibility and better ventilation.”

Regarding the Constellation tomato medley, Joergensen said it offers “a tomato for every occasion,” with various sizes and varieties available.

“There are a lot of tomato medleys out there, but this one gives a consistency not available in others. We found that consumers liked knowing what they were going to get.”

He said there are currently four different tomatoes available in Constellation, but that it would be available with up to six varieties.