Tomato sales rebound as scare wanes
Tomato sales rebound as scare wanes
Most of the major fast-food chains were starting to put sliced tomatoes back on their products by June 18, and Mexican tomatoes from FDA-approved areas in Baja California were being shipped again. It appears as if the tomato scare will not have the residual effect on consumers that the spinach crisis had two years ago.
"It definitely has a different feel," Bob Newton, produce director of Associated Food Stores Inc., which services hundreds of retail outlets from its Salt Lake City, UT, hub, told The Produce News. "When we pulled the Romas and regular field-grown round tomatoes off the shelf, the consumers had no problems switching to clusters, cherry and grape tomatoes."
He said that the tomato category remained strong, so he expects that sales of Romas and rounds will pick up quickly.
"We are sending out the first load of Baja tomatoes to our stores today," he said, "and we are featuring Romas on ad because a lot of our stores asked us to."
Mr. Newton said that he had not yet seen the exact ad, which was scheduled to run June 18, but the marketing people were working on the wording the day before. He said that the company would not put the "Mexican" designation in the ad but it might very well identify them as being from "Baja California," which, of course, is the peninsula that is home to the two Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. He added that they were also toying with the idea of calling them FDA-approved.
John King, vice president of sales for Andrew & Williamson Sales Co. Inc., a large San Diego-based grower-shipper of Baja California tomatoes, said that the firm suspended shipments for 10 days from June 7-17. "We started shipping yesterday from our fields in north Baja California," he said June 17. "Southern Baja has not been cleared yet, but we are expecting that any day." Mr. King said that with the Food & Drug Administration stamp of approval, he expects sales to ramp up fairly quickly.
"Our customers are coming back," Mr. King said. "They have confidence in the way we do things and the food safety precautions we take. Consumers might be a little slow in coming back, but the retail and foodservice customers we have are ordering again."
He said that most of the firm's customers are west of the Mississippi River "but they do ship nationwide."
The Andrew & Williamson executive said that the market is fairly good, with both Romas and vine-ripes returning an f.o.b. price of nearly $15. And he expects the market to hold. "The pipeline is fairly empty and supplies are light, so I think the market will remain fairly strong," he said.
Mr. King added that the homegrown deals around the country won't be in full swing until late July, so Baja producers have an opportunity to reclaim the market over the next month.
One area that does offer competition is Arkansas, which has just begun to ship its sizable summer crop. A couple of Midwest retailers indicated that they are going to steer clear of Mexico because of the opportunities from Arkansas.
Mike Zemia, director of produce operations for Acme Fresh Markets, in Akron, OH, said that his tomato sales did not slow down at all because consumers simply switched to the varieties that he kept on the shelf.
"Even as we were removing the Romas and round tomatoes, consumers were trying to buy them," Mr. Zemia said. "Once we put them back on the shelf over the weekend (June 14-15), they started buying them again. I think because there were alternatives, sales didn't slow down."
Even though Mexican tomatoes from Baja are back in the market, Mr. Zemia said that Acme is going to stick with Arkansas product for the time being. "It makes more sense for us. The freight savings alone makes it worth it, and tomatoes from southern Ohio will start in another couple of weeks."
Dave Latkowski, vice president and director of the produce division for Chicago-based Certified Grocers Midwest Inc., said that sales of tomatoes are starting to come back but are still well off where they should be. "I'd say I am down 80 percent," he said June 17. "It is still a big story here. In fact, there was another front-page story in the [Chicago Tribune] today."
Like his Midwest counterpart in Ohio, Mr. Latkowski is going to stay away from Mexican tomatoes for the time being. "We are going to play it safe and stick with Arkansas," he said.
National fast food chains Taco Bell and Wendy's announced early the week of June 16 that they were restocking their stores with sliced tomatoes. Burger King took that action the previous weekend (June 14).
McDonald's continued to suspend tomato sales, publicly stating June 17 that it was not going to bring the product back until there were enough supplies from approved sources to fill its nationwide demand.
"It definitely has a different feel," Bob Newton, produce director of Associated Food Stores Inc., which services hundreds of retail outlets from its Salt Lake City, UT, hub, told The Produce News. "When we pulled the Romas and regular field-grown round tomatoes off the shelf, the consumers had no problems switching to clusters, cherry and grape tomatoes."
He said that the tomato category remained strong, so he expects that sales of Romas and rounds will pick up quickly.
"We are sending out the first load of Baja tomatoes to our stores today," he said, "and we are featuring Romas on ad because a lot of our stores asked us to."
Mr. Newton said that he had not yet seen the exact ad, which was scheduled to run June 18, but the marketing people were working on the wording the day before. He said that the company would not put the "Mexican" designation in the ad but it might very well identify them as being from "Baja California," which, of course, is the peninsula that is home to the two Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. He added that they were also toying with the idea of calling them FDA-approved.
John King, vice president of sales for Andrew & Williamson Sales Co. Inc., a large San Diego-based grower-shipper of Baja California tomatoes, said that the firm suspended shipments for 10 days from June 7-17. "We started shipping yesterday from our fields in north Baja California," he said June 17. "Southern Baja has not been cleared yet, but we are expecting that any day." Mr. King said that with the Food & Drug Administration stamp of approval, he expects sales to ramp up fairly quickly.
"Our customers are coming back," Mr. King said. "They have confidence in the way we do things and the food safety precautions we take. Consumers might be a little slow in coming back, but the retail and foodservice customers we have are ordering again."
He said that most of the firm's customers are west of the Mississippi River "but they do ship nationwide."
The Andrew & Williamson executive said that the market is fairly good, with both Romas and vine-ripes returning an f.o.b. price of nearly $15. And he expects the market to hold. "The pipeline is fairly empty and supplies are light, so I think the market will remain fairly strong," he said.
Mr. King added that the homegrown deals around the country won't be in full swing until late July, so Baja producers have an opportunity to reclaim the market over the next month.
One area that does offer competition is Arkansas, which has just begun to ship its sizable summer crop. A couple of Midwest retailers indicated that they are going to steer clear of Mexico because of the opportunities from Arkansas.
Mike Zemia, director of produce operations for Acme Fresh Markets, in Akron, OH, said that his tomato sales did not slow down at all because consumers simply switched to the varieties that he kept on the shelf.
"Even as we were removing the Romas and round tomatoes, consumers were trying to buy them," Mr. Zemia said. "Once we put them back on the shelf over the weekend (June 14-15), they started buying them again. I think because there were alternatives, sales didn't slow down."
Even though Mexican tomatoes from Baja are back in the market, Mr. Zemia said that Acme is going to stick with Arkansas product for the time being. "It makes more sense for us. The freight savings alone makes it worth it, and tomatoes from southern Ohio will start in another couple of weeks."
Dave Latkowski, vice president and director of the produce division for Chicago-based Certified Grocers Midwest Inc., said that sales of tomatoes are starting to come back but are still well off where they should be. "I'd say I am down 80 percent," he said June 17. "It is still a big story here. In fact, there was another front-page story in the [Chicago Tribune] today."
Like his Midwest counterpart in Ohio, Mr. Latkowski is going to stay away from Mexican tomatoes for the time being. "We are going to play it safe and stick with Arkansas," he said.
National fast food chains Taco Bell and Wendy's announced early the week of June 16 that they were restocking their stores with sliced tomatoes. Burger King took that action the previous weekend (June 14).
McDonald's continued to suspend tomato sales, publicly stating June 17 that it was not going to bring the product back until there were enough supplies from approved sources to fill its nationwide demand.
