There’s always going to be a next, big thing in vegetables. But where do the trends lie? In flavor? In shape? In colour?
For Nathan Pumplin, while trends are wonderful to fall into, he dreams of one thing: a more nutritious and better-tasting tomato. But, it just so happens that better tasting, more nutritious tomato hit on a new trend in the vegetable sector: a vibrant colour.
“We’re offering a new option of an excellent tomato that’s enabled with biotechnology, but it exists in a marketplace that has a lot of other options,” Pumplin, CEO of Norfolk Healthy Produce, says. “Our other key message is our tomato is a fantastic tomato. It tastes great, and that’s really a key takeaway. We’re aiming to deliver a fantastic tomato with more nutrition and more convenience.”
To achieve a healthier tomato, Pumplin says the goal originally was to ensure it was more nutritious by including an increased amount of antioxidants in it. In his own words, this new GMO tomato has as many antioxidants as a blueberry, but the same great flavor of tomatoes you know and love.
But, due to the increased antioxidants, the tomato changed from the typical red to an almost plum-like purple.
“We really believe In eating the rainbow — it’s very simple advice for eating,” he says. “If you want to get all your vitamins and nutrients, you want fresh foods from all the color groups — and there aren’t so many purple options. We think there’s a huge opportunity to meet unmet needs in the purple space with our products.”
Make sure to listen to Nathan Pumplin’s full podcast interview below.
