“Until the early or mid-2000s, all the tomatoes grown in the UK were pretty much just round and red, with very little flavour,” says Paul Thomas, Managing Director of Isle of Wight Tomatoes.
In 2007, he and some friends began to explore the market for selling some of the intensely flavourful tomatoes grown on the island, experimenting with different varieties.
“A few friends and I were setting off in a transit van every weekend, going to London to set up a stall at Borough Market and farmers’ markets, and we soon found we had a queue,” says Paul, “because we had tomatoes that had been sourced and grown for flavour. That was very different to what was commonly available at the time. Tomatoes had just become a commodity that was all about price – nothing was about flavour or variety or texture.”
Buoyed by the clear signs of demand for better quality, tasty tomatoes, Paul and his co-founder established a more permanent business. “We expanded and started to grow more speciality tomatoes on the island, sourcing from seed companies all over the world to grow new and interesting varieties,” he says.
Today, Isle of Wight Tomatoes employs more than 50 people and grows more than 40 varieties every year, between March and October. These include the almost-brown chocolate marmonde; yellow cherry, which looks exactly as you’d expect; green tiger, named for its colour and the faint stripes of its skin; and a heart-shaped beef tomato, coeur de boeuf.
It’s no coincidence that a successful tomato-growing business is headquartered here on the island. “Sunlight is the main food source for the tomato, and because of its geographical location, the Isle of Wight gets the highest sunlight levels in the UK,” says Paul. “And as we’re a small island, the surrounding water intensifies that light. Tomatoes began to be grown here industrially in the late 1960s, and some of our greenhouses actually date from that time.”
From the earliest days of the business, reusing materials and minimising food waste were natural priorities for Paul, and today, Isle of Wight Tomatoes is B Corp certified as environmentally friendly.
Elsewhere, tomatoes are often grown in an artificial substrate called rock wool, but Paul has chosen to do things differently. “With the rock wool, what you have left at the end of the year can only go to landfill. So, about 10 years ago, we switched to growing in coir, made from coconut husk, which is a waste product from the coconut industry.”
When tomatoes have split or have an odd colour or appearance that means they can’t be sold commercially – but are no less flavourful – Isle of Wight Tomatoes uses them in its ketchups and sauces.
This has given it a product range for the off-season months to supply chefs and customers cooking at home. The brand’s emphasis was at first firmly on the restaurant industry, and its teams continue to work with chefs and other hospitality partners to help develop new dishes and communicate the culinary possibilities of tomatoes, which at one time were an almost criminally underused ingredient in UK cuisine.
During the pandemic, Paul and his colleagues also developed a way to send tomatoes directly to customers. The brand’s now hugely popular three-kilo mixed heritage box is always sent out within 24 to 48 hours of the tomatoes having been harvested, in ecofriendly compostable packaging.
“Who would have thought you could send tomatoes in the post,” he laughs. Among the restaurants that are proud to serve Isle of Wight tomatoes is ours here at THE PIG. “One of the things that our supply chain allows us to do is leave the tomatoes on the plant as long as possible.
“Once you’ve harvested the tomato, it won’t develop any more sugar or flavour – bear in mind that something that’s coming to the UK from Spain or Morocco is six to eight days in transit.”
In contrast, “We’re only about 15 miles from THE PIG. Our ethos has always been to harvest the product in the morning and deliver to THE PIG that same day.” Ultimately, says, Paul, “When you eat a really high-quality tomato, it should be a sensory experience.” We’ll never look at a tomato quite the same way again.
Enjoy Isle of Wight Tomatoes’ produce when you dine with us at THE PIG and THE PIG-in the wall – and order your own at iowtomatoes.co.uk
