Oceanside Pole expands Roma acreage
After an excellent season growing Brussels sprouts for the first time, Oceanside Pole vine-ripe tomatoes are back with 60 new acres of Romas. Increasing Roma production by 50 percent, West Coast Tomato Growers, owners of the Oceanside Pole tomato brand, aim to keep up with consumer demand.
“Our challenge over the years has been not being able to cover all of our customers with our Romas,” said James Galindo, senior sales representative for Oppy. “With the additional acreage it’s going to make it a lot easier to meet our retailer demand.”
Freshlook data tells us that in 2016, Romas dominated the tomato category, comprising almost 40 percent of all tomatoes sold. Romas also grew in both volume and sales dollars in all regions of the U.S. last year. Between 2015 and 2016, vine-ripe rounds volume grew by 22 percent and sales by 12 percent in California. With identical growth for the first quarter of 2017, Oceanside Pole is poised for a successful expansion.
“With so few vine-ripe growers left, retailers know they can expect a high-quality tomato from Oceanside,” Galindo adds. “Because they are pole grown, the taste alone is significantly different from gas green. Naturally ripened tomatoes have the flavor, shelf life and quality other growing methods just can’t produce. They are so hearty, their walls are so thick and their gels are at just the right levels—they travel really well.”
Farming in Oceanside, California for over 75 years Galindo characterizes each new season as “literally a Southern California tradition. There is no better way to describe it. For the Singh family, it’s a tradition.”
Harvest began end-of-June with volume expected to pick up by mid-July. Oceanside Pole will produce Romas and vine-ripes through the fall.
Available from Oppy. Contact us at oppy.com or 1-888-321-OPPY.
