British Tomato Fortnight

At Sainsbury’s we have long standing relationships with our British tomato growers. They are constantly innovating, using traditional growing skills passed down from generation to generation together with modern techniques to ensure they produce great tasting tomatoes as sustainably as possible. Look out for their names on our Taste the Difference packs, especially our Taste the Difference Best of British 250g, Golden Vittoria 250g and the Variety Box 900g.

Robert has been growing tomatoes for 15 years and is general manager at Evesham Vale Growers.

"Sustainable growing isn’t just important to us, it’s an essential part of our tomato farm. At every stage we harness renewable energy - from harvesting sunlight in a 40 hectare solar farm, to breaking down biodegradable material and creating environmentally friendly gases to power our greenhouses, and using rainwater collected from the greenhouse roofs. The system is one of the most advanced in Europe and enables us to grow delicious, fresh Sainsbury's tomatoes all year round."

“As a family we’ve been growing tomatoes for over 40 years, with my mum and dad starting the company in 1979” says Roly Holt. “For the past 25 years we’ve been growing Taste the Difference tomatoes for Sainsbury’s, so we’ve been there with them since the very start. What’s special about tomatoes are the different flavours, sizes, shapes, textures and colours – genuinely something for everyone! My favourite is still Taste the Difference Vittoria tomatoes, with their superb texture they are bursting with flavour!” 

Frank Rudd & Sons is a 3rd generation tomato grower established in 1939, and the business is now run by brothers Chris and Tony Rudd. They grow some of Sainsbury’s best tasting Taste the Difference tomatoes – Best of British, Golden Vittoria and the Variety Box. With recent expansion using the latest sustainable growing investments, Tony’s daughter Charlotte has joined the team. Charlotte says “I’m really excited to have joined the family business and especially to be growing Taste the Difference Golden Vittoria tomatoes, which are an absolutely fantastic tasting tomato. I couldn’t be learning off better people than my uncle and dad!”