Grocery retailer Caprabo expects to see a 25% year-on-year growth in the sales of local tomatoes this season after facing weather related difficulties in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The retailer has commenced the sales of local tomatoes from the Alt Maresme and La Selva areas in stores across Spain.
Spanish Tomato Season
At the end of the season, which is forecast to last until the end of October, the retailer expects that one in three tomatoes sold will be of Catalan origin.
Caprabo works to promote the knowledge and consumption of local products from small farmers and agricultural cooperatives.
The company sells tomatoes from farmers of the La Conca de la Tordera cooperative, from Palafolls, Malgrat, Santa Susanna, and Tordera in the Alt Maresme sub-region and Blanes in the La Selva region.
Most of the farms are located in the Tordera river basin, mainly around the delta region.
These farmlands, formed from sediments deposited from floods in the river, are naturally fertile and results in enhanced crop quality.
Fernando Tercero, head of proximity at Caprabo, said, "Commitment to local production is especially important in times like these. We are clearly committed to supporting small producers and agricultural cooperatives."
Speaking on the tomato campaign, Tercero said, "Specific seasonal campaigns encourage the consumption of products that are in the best conditions of freshness and naturalness"
Cardboard Packaging
This year, for the first time, the tomatoes are being sold in cardboard packaging to minimise the use of plastic.
The initiative will reduce plastic consumption by 5.5 tonnes, Caprabo added.
Elsewhere, the retailer has installed containers to collect used coffee capsules for recycling in more than 200 stores across Catalonia as part of its strategic corporate social commitment plan.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Fresh Produce news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
