August 29, 2008, Kingsville, Ont.
— Mastronardi Produce/Sunset’s new tomato did it again. The new variety
Champagne™ Cocktail Tomato is well on its way to becoming an
international success, much like the company's Campari® Brand Cocktail and
Splendido™ Grape Tomatoes.
August 29, 2008, Kingsville, Ont. — Mastronardi Produce/Sunset’s new tomato did it again. The new variety Champagne™ Cocktail Tomato is well on its way to becoming an international success, much like the company's Campari® Brand Cocktail and Splendido™ Grape Tomatoes.
During the weekend of Aug. 16–17, Mastronardi did quite well at the annual Leamington Tomato Festival tomato competition presented by REACH International. As a part of the “Hottest Tomato Competition,” Mastronardi took top honours with its Champagne™ Cocktail Tomato for the Specialty Variety category and with its Beef Tomato in the Beef Variety category. To top it all off, Mastronardi claimed the prestigious award for “The Overall Best Hothouse Tomato” for its Champagne™ cocktail tomato.
“We are excited that our new variety captured all the top awards,” said executive vice-president Paul Mastronardi. “We just released it commercially in May of this year and have been sold out ever since.”
The Champagne™ 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.
“When Paul discovered this variety and we first tasted it, 'wow' was the only thing I could say,” said Giuseppe Rubino, director of packaging for the company. Rubino, who was visiting the competition with his wife, was called not once, but three times to the podium to receive the prestigious awards. “When they announced the winners, they kept on calling our name to go and pick up the trophy for the category,” he said. “And to win the Overall Best Hothouse Tomato, it felt like I was at the Oscars with all the trophies.”
The general public was able to sample the wares of all competition participants throughout the weekend. The display area for the Champagne™ Cocktail Tomato was the busiest of them all with customers repeatedly returning and waiting for the sample plate to be refilled. One customer from the U.S. commented, “these tomatoes are the sweetest tomatoes I have ever tasted.” Even kids, who stated that they do not like tomatoes, were popping them like candy.
The Champagne™ Cocktail Tomato is so sweet that it supports the fact that a tomato is a fruit.
For more information regarding Mastronardi Produce/SUNSET, please visit www.sunsetproduce.com.
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