Jul 31, 2018

Lipman Family Farms, NatureSweet team up

Tomato industry leaders Lipman Family Farms and NatureSweet are joining forces to better serve customers and quick service restaurants by ensuring year‐round premium, high‐quality, high‐flavor slicing and salad tomatoes.

The joint venture was announced by NatureSweet July 25. The two companies have made equal investments. The partnership is planned to launch in October 2018. The new greenhouse and field tomato products will be co-branded and distributed under the Lipman name.

“Lipman has mastered supplying and serving very large, demanding foodservice customers, and we’ve mastered growing at scale to produce responsibly grown greenhouse tomatoes,” said NatureSweet CEO Bryant Ambelang. “We couldn’t ask for a better partner as we’ll both be able to provide new value for our combined customers.”

The better burger, quick service and fast casual restaurant industry continue to grow demand for tomatoes in the U.S.

“We’re pleased we’ll be able to assure a 52‐week supply of exceptional slicing and salad tomatoes to our valued clients,” said Lipman Family Farms CEO Kent Shoemaker. “NatureSweet is known for their successful snacking tomatoes and innovative packaging, and we’re glad to share our strengths and expertise in a partnership. Our goal is to bring the high flavor, high color, high-density characteristics of our field grown Crimson variety to the greenhouse product we create with NatureSweet. Our food service customers need access to premium product on a year‐round basis. They also need greenhouse and field grown options.”

Lipman Family Farms markets itself as a full-service tomato and vegetable company operating in both open field and protected agriculture, while NatureSweet Tomatoes is “the leading grower of premium, branded, best‐tasting fresh tomatoes in North America.”