September 9, 2008, Kingsville, Ont. — Almost 15 years ago, Mastronardi Produce set out to find the best tomato in the world. It wasn’t so much size, colour and shape that was on their minds; it was flavour. After numerous trials, they discovered a golf ball-sized variety from Enza Zaden. The tomatoes were sold under Mastronardi’s trademark Campari® Brand Cocktail Tomato and marketed as the most versatile tomato in the kitchen, with the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. Today, it’s considered by many to be “the tomato lover’s tomato.” Mastronardi Produce/Sunset recently reached a long-term deal with the Dutch seed producer for the exclusive North American rights to the variety.
 “Every year,” explained executive vice-president Paul Mastronardi, “we conduct worldwide searches for new specialty items. We test more than 100 different varieties in our greenhouses trying to improve the best of the best.”
Whenever they compared all the new cocktail varieties, Enza’s original cocktail tomato always came out on top. “This tomato is perfection in flavour and the signing of this exclusive agreement further demonstrates our goal of leading the tomato category,” said Mastronardi.
At the Leamington Tomato Festival this past August, the company also recently earned the Best Specialty Tomato award with their deliciously sweet Champagne cherry tomato, which is more of a snacking tomato.
“We receive tons of e-mails each week at our website from customers wanting to know where they can purchase our Campari® tomatoes, telling us it’s the best tasting tomato they have ever eaten, or cool things like letting us know that they buy them by the case as gifts,” said marketing manager Chris Veillon. “The tomato is addictive. One customer even mailed us all the clamshell lids to show us he eats two pounds every week.”
Mastronardi intends to work with some western growers to ensure Campari® is grown locally and available nationally.
“Our Campari® is a tomato experience. It’s what a tomato should taste like, and it truly is the tomato lover’s tomato,” Mastronardi noted proudly.
The Campari® Brand Cocktail Tomato is just one of the more than 100 different varieties of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers that Mastronardi grows and packs under its Sunset label of produce.
For more information regarding Mastronardi Produce/SUNSET, please visit www.sunsetproduce.com.
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