“TomaTech-Nirit appoints Julia Parry as new VP Business Development & Downstream”

There is a buzz of excitement around Tomatech-Nirit. The recent merger of the two tomato-focused breeding companies (TomaTech and Nirit) clearly pointed to the emergence of a new world order in tomato varietal development. And today, the company announced the appointment of Julia Parry as VP Business Development and Downstream.

Julia has over 25-years of experience in tomato supply to the retail market and years of expertise in first-to-market NPD. “In this business, you must pay attention to what your consumers want and never lose sight of that in your decision making,” says Parry. “Long-term partnerships with customers and growers are the central backbone of the TomaTech-Nirit approach,” she continues, “and our end game is to deliver great production varieties bred according to a consumer-led brief.” “We are bringing to market tasty consumer-led varieties that are already delivering great results for growers in the most testing of circumstances,” added Julia. “I am really looking forward to helping TomaTech-Nirit develop an even deeper understanding of consumer trends and fostering those long-term retailer and grower partnerships that will allow us to jointly develop the tomato offer of the future. It is our intention to continue delivering consistent flavour, quality, and value for money to end consumers all year round. Ultimately, we want people to eat more tomatoes, and this will only happen if, as an industry, we hit all these criteria consistently.” Commenting on the appointment and the company’s recent successes, Ofer Ben Zvi, CEO, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Julia to our ranks. The new position is a strategic step and will deliver on TomaTech-Nirit’s vision to work in partnership with all stakeholders along the value chain to develop our future tomato offering. The combined strength and depth of both companies represent a huge potential for the market. We are in fact shaping the tomato demand of the future and our message is clear: tomatoes must be attractive, tasty, and productive to drive growth and repeat purchases. The company has a clear strategic plan to exploit the full potential of the combined TomaTech and Nirit germplasm, which is providing a rich pool for tomato development. This year already the merged company stunned the tomato-growing sector with the launch of its first range of commercial tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) resistant varieties, including 14 speciality and snacking varieties and more in the pipeline. Amongst them are the ever-popular Sugardrop tomato and newcomer Dormaplum – a great Baby Plum variety with a glossy appearance and high yield.

Original article published on freshplaza.com