Ripe for growing success: Arreton’s Tomato Stall employs 30 people, producing and selling Isle of Wight tomatoes all year round to markets all over the world. Island Business finds out more about this growing award-winning company.
Isle of Wight tomatoes are a massive success story. Each year almost 7 million kilos of tomato products travel to the UK mainland and beyond, produced by team at The Tomato Stall. Their nursery is home to around 60 acres of glasshouse and is located in the fertile and sheltered Arreton valley, where tomatoes have been grown for over 30 years. The Isle of Wight benefits from more sunshine hours than most of the UK as well as the reflection from the surrounding water, making it a great place to grow. Part of the Wight Salads group, the business employs 30 people both on the Island and in London.
The Tomato Stall was founded in 2007 with Paul Thomas and Jeff MacDonald taking freshly picked Isle of Wight Tomatoes to a handful of farmers’ markets within London. At the time markets were a fairly new concept in the city, and within weeks people were queuing down the street to get their hands on tomatoes that tasted like those of childhood memories, with stalls selling out by ten in the morning. As word spread the number of markets grew, and the business began supplying farm shops along the routes into London. They now supply farm shops, restaurants, bars, hotels and delis throughout the UK as well as Ocado and Wholefoods, plus operate a growing online shop.
“Tomatoes are incredibly popular and liked by the majority of people, but we do come across those opposed to the flavor or texture. More often than not it’s due to them having tasted bad tomatoes in the past and once they’ve tasted ours we usually change their minds,” Paul explains.
Paul had returned to the Island looking for a new challenge after spending time travelling in Australia. A chance meeting with Jeff MacDonald followed, and Paul’s background as a chef and keen interest in food came into play. The rest, as they say, is history. From humble beginnings with just a small building, a couple of vans and a handful of employees The Tomato Stall now operates across three premises, including a state of the art development kitchen, a fleet of vans and over 30 employees. Jeff left the business in 2013 to pursue other opportunities, with Paul continuing in the role of Managing Director.
“We supply a large network of independent farm shops, specialist wholesalers, delis and hospitality venues throughout the UK,” Paul says. “Around 10% of our total sales are on the Isle of Wight, with the remainder being exported to the mainland via our own delivery fleet and utilising pallet and courier networks throughout the UK. We have also recently exported our first shipment of tomato juice to Hong Kong!”
The Arreton nursery grows around 30 tomato varieties, trialing up to 200 seed types annually in search of the best flavours. 8 million kilos are produced within the nursery as a whole each year, with around 40% organically grown and 60% conventionally, or non-organic.
As well as fresh tomatoes The Tomato Stall also produces a range of artisanal products including pure tomato juices, sauces, condiments and slow roasted tomatoes using 100% vine ripened Isle of Wight Tomatoes. Paul and his team create all the recipes in house, and introduce new items to the range every year to keep up to date with ever changing food trends.
“We have always sold our fresh tomatoes and product range under The Tomato Stall umbrella, which grew fairly organically as a brand over the years alongside the needs of the business. In 2014 we took the decision to fully rebrand in order to position ourselves as a quality food producer that appealed to customers and larger retailers alike, opening further opportunities for growth. The Isle of Wight is championed throughout all of our packaging, PR and messaging so as our reputation grows as a household name for the best tomatoes so does the profile of the Island.”
The nursery operates a wide range of sustainable farming practices including a completely biodegradable growing system, a large on site composting facility, rainwater harvesting. 2016 sees the opening of two brand new energy centres that will generate 22MW of electricity for Island homes while providing Co2 and heat for the tomato growing operation.
In the early years the business boomed in the summer and was a real struggle in the winter, with the ability to build product stocks during the in season months and grow a small amount of tomatoes year round we now operate a booming 12 months business, meaning year round jobs for Islanders.
“We provide our employees with specialist training to keep up with changing food standards and accreditation’s, building a skilled workforce. Being on the Island does provide the business with certain challenges, of course the Solent being one of the biggest. We work closely with Red Funnel to navigate through limitations and peak travel times. It can also be a challenge to find the right skill set within the Island’s workforce, but we have had great success with finding the right people and then providing the specialist training necessary to ensure the business meets the requirements of the various accreditation’s and standards we operate under.”
The Tomato Stall has seen significant growth in the past three years, pushing into new areas with direct distribution whilst also expanding into new areas of business (such as tomato juice) into bars and hotels, building links with the on trade and creating their own Bloody Mary mix. For the future Paul is keen to increase production capacity for product lines as well as further reducing food waste through clever growing and crop utilisation. The Tomato Stall were founding members of the Wight Marque, and Paul is also a member of the committee. He welcomes the attention that locally grown produce is now receiving, from Islanders and visitors alike.
“The Isle of Wight is most definitely a foodie destination. There is a huge demand for truly local produce among both visitors and residents, and we are proud to supply a wealth of Island businesses from farm shops to hotels and restaurants. We’ve seen a noticeable rise on the Island’s reputation as a gastro destination over the past few years among national press and other leading food brands, and have worked hard to steer our PR activity towards positioning the Isle of Wight as the home of the best tomatoes in much the same way as Jersey is famous for its potatoes.”
First published in the April 2016 issue of Island Business Magazine.
