November 12, 2009

In a move set to bring an end to the age-old soggy sandwich dilemma, Australia’s largest supplier of fresh field grown tomatoes has this week introduced a new product to the market.

SP Exports Managing Director Andrew Philip explains ‘Intense’ tomatoes have been selectively bred in response to consumer demand.

“Australians have been bemoaning the fact that tomatoes make their sandwiches soggy for years,” Philip says.

“We decided to find a solution by selectively breeding Intense to hold its shape and juice, resulting in a tomato that is quick and easy to cut, with no mess,” he says.

“Intense tomatoes have the same amount of juice as a regular tomato but it stays trapped in each tiny cell meaning there's no dripping or sogginess even when it's cut or squeezed.”

Based in Childers, SP Exports is a family owned and operated horticultural enterprise with foundations dating back to 1948 when Ian Philp established a horticultural share-farming operation in NSW.

When the family moved to Bundaberg in 1983, the tomato growing operation began.

With the rapid growth of the tomato operations the Philip family decided to set up a joint marketing company with another prominent growth, the Simpson family.

Officially rebranded as SP Exports (Simpson Philip Exports) shortly after, the business began exporting products to the New Zealand and Asian markets.

Over the past three years the business has continued to improve its supplier base by working closely with a number of producers in Bowen, Bundaberg, Southern Queensland and Victoria.

Named after their intense red colour, the new tomatoes are now being stocked in Coles supermarkets.