Red Sun Farms prepares to market bio-engineered purple tomato

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The bio-engineered purple tomato from Norfolk Healthy Produce will soon reach retail shelves, says Harold Paivarinta, senior director of sales for Red Sun Farms.

Red Sun Farms is partnering with Norfolk Healthy Produce to market the high-antioxidant purple tomato, Paivarinta said.

Speaking March 26 at the Associated Wholesale Grocers' seventh annual Innovation Showcase, Paivarinta said the purple tomato will be co-branded by Red Sun Farms and Norfolk Healthy Produce and will be sourced from the company's greenhouse farm in Virginia starting in mid-April.

The 9-ounce pack of purple tomatoes, labeled as the Empress limited-edition tomato, will be sold in selected retail channels in the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast, Paivarinta said. The expected retail price point is projected to be between $3.99 and $4.49, he said.

Paivarinta said the purple tomato is already proving to be popular with backyard gardeners, with reports that more than 13,000 gardeners have already purchased purple tomato seeds.

“You are going to start seeing [the purple tomato], not only in people’s backyards but on grocery store shelves as well,” he said.

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