Kaliroy Fresh to unveil new peel-back shaker clamshell at SEPC Southern Exposure
Kaliroy Fresh LLC will launch a new, exclusive peel-back shaker snacking tomato clamshell made from recycled PET at the upcoming SEPC Southern Exposure March 6-8 in Orlando, FL.
The design of the clamshell was inspired by the architecture of a greenhouse structure. The unique and memorable design allows the clamshell to be shipped as a “commodity” pint clamshell without the need for new item set up; however, it has a consumer-friendly peel back label with a shaker feature on the top.
Kaliroy launched the shaker clamshell in November, and it has been a huge success so far, and sales continue to grow significantly.
“We have never sold so many clamshell Grape tomatoes in the history of our company,” said Tom Lyons, vice president of business development, sales and marketing at Kaliroy Fresh.
The company has invested heavily in year-round production of snacking tomatoes, including grape, mixed medley and cherry. Kaliroy has found that snacking tomatoes grow perfectly year-round at their campus in Jalisco, Mexico, which Lyons said is “like the Napa Valley of tomatoes.”
Lyons said Kaliroy grows snacking tomato varieties with great flavor, yield and resistances. “We have a robust research and development program, and we are constantly testing hundreds of new varieties every year. Our vision is to become the new leader in the snacking tomato category, with plenty of in-house year-round greenhouse acreage to dominate the market.”
Kaliroy Fresh continues to invest in additional acreage and volumes, as well as production in Baja California, in addition to Jalisco and Sinaloa, which has enabled Kaliroy Fresh to be the premier option for year-round, fully vertically integrated tomato supply. Kaliroy is itself the grower and maintains full ownership over the entire supply chain from land to the end customer.
“We are the actual grower,” said Lyons. “Even though tomato markets have recently been oversupplied, there are very few growers that are capable of supplying year-round in-house production every day of the year, with the right quality, delivering on time, and in full, like Kaliroy Fresh.”
Kaliroy Fresh produces retail and restaurant ready one touch Roma, round, grape, mixed medley tomatoes, and recently added dedicated acreages on new items, including cherry tomatoes and mini sweet peppers.
Kaliroy Fresh does not repack and does not believe in the archaic, old school repack model. Its new generation varieties are harvested, packed and shipped straight to the end customer, ready to go. It has the highest standard of food safety and social responsibility and is proud to be SA 8000 Certified.
Kaliroy's story began over 50 years ago in Sinaloa, Mexico. Eduardo de la Vega Sr., known as El Arquitecto, started as a renowned architect before pursuing his true passion — farming. After marrying the daughter of a Greek immigrant tomato farmer, he traded in his ruler and protractor for a tractor and a shovel and Kaliroy was born.
Initially a small green bean and corn farm, Kaliroy evolved into a major tomato producer in Sinaloa. In 1994, Eduardo de la Vega Jr. joined the business, driving expansion into year-round tomato production. In 2001, he established a greenhouse operation in Jalisco, now Mexico’s largest tomato farming operation, employing over 4,000 workers. In 2022, Kaliroy expanded to Baja California to supply summer and fall Roma tomatoes, continuing to grow annually.
Today, under the leadership of the De la Vega family, Kaliroy is a leading Mexican tomato supplier with operations in Sinaloa, Jalisco, and Baja California. The company provides a consistent year-round supply of round, Roma, and grape tomatoes while creating valuable job opportunities in both Mexico and the U.S.
