Andy Roe
Flavourfresh

It’s thanks to the hard work and dedication of growers across the country that we’re able to celebrate British tomato season with so many delicious varieties each year.

Meet some of the growers working to keep shops and shelves well-stocked.

Andy Roe’s been growing tomatoes from more than 30 years. He oversees the production of 2,700 tonnes of toms annually at Flavourfresh in Southport, where he’s been since the company started in 1997.

You’ll find tomatoes from our family-run business in some of the biggest supermarkets in the country. We cultivate premium quality crops selected for their spectacular flavour, a few current favourites include Sweet Rosso, Delisher and Piccolo.

We’re a bit obsessed with growing only the tastiest produce. When we’re not picking and packing, you’ll find us honing our growing methods to get the best flavour out of every tomato. And we love trialling new varieties to complement our already delicious line-up.

“We’re a bit obsessed with growing only the tastiest produce. When we’re not picking and packing, you’ll find us honing our growing methods to get the best flavour out of every tomato.”

As well as taste, sustainability is really important to us. We plant our fruit in coir, a biodegradable natural fibre extracted from coconuts. Once we’re finished, we pass it on to be reused by local businesses, like cattle farmers, gardeners and other growers.

We collect every drop of rain to water our plants and use energy curtains in the glasshouse roofs to help us reduce heat usage. We also capture CO2 from our heating system to nourish our tomatoes and are exploring the environmental benefits of robotic harvesting.

We always try to work with nature rather than against it. Our glasshouses are wildlife-friendly zones, surrounded by flowers, fields and hedgerows – there’s even a 2-acre owl sanctuary in the neighbouring meadow! Inside, resident bee colonies help us pollenate our plants, something we owe them a debt of gratitude for.

We grow tomatoes in Britain for British customers, meaning we don’t have to store our produce once it’s picked, and transportation time is kept to a minimum. This helps us cut down the time between the field and fork, ensuring our toms are extra fresh and bursting with flavour when they reach you.

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