Shored up by a new partnership designed for deeper market penetration, the tide has turned for the Oceanside tomato deal.
When longtime Oceanside grower Harry Singh Jr.’s vine-ripe tomatoes make their much-anticipated return to the market in July, they will be backed by the sales, marketing and distribution expertise of The Oppenheimer Group.
Oppenheimer and Harry Singh Jr.’s new company, West Coast Tomato Growers LLC, joined forces earlier this month. Harry Singh Jr. and his family have farmed the coastal acreage just north of San Diego for over seven decades. In the years leading up to 2011, the product was sold in-house.
John Anderson, Oppenheimer’s chairman, president, and CEO, called the vine-ripes a strategic addition to the company’s tomato line-up, which also includes romas, beefsteak, and tomatoes-on-the-vine.
“We are very enthusiastic about the opportunity to market Oceanside tomatoes, which enjoy an excellent reputation in the trade for their quality and flavor,” he said. “Vine-ripened pole tomatoes bring a new dimension to our product portfolio, and we’re confident that together we can build market share while delivering value to our customers.”
Marcia Adler, a business development manager who has represented tomatoes grown by Harry Singh Jr.’s former company for more than a dozen years, shares Anderson’s optimism about the partnership.
“Harry Singh Jr. is a phenomenal, top quality grower. Oppenheimer has terrific relationships with the retail trade and proven tomato marketing expertise,” she said. “It’s a perfect match — like a marriage that was meant to be.”
Dick Keim, who was associated with Harry Singh Jr.’s former company for many years, came out of retirement to join Adler in Oppenheimer’s sales and marketing approach this season.
“I was honored to return and help Mr. Singh, whose singular wish is to grow the best tomatoes his vast experience will enable him to,” he said. “We decided we needed a great marketing organization so that he could simply grow tomatoes. After researching, Oppenheimer was selected as best suited to everyone’s business goals. We are extremely excited about the relationship, and look forward to serving new and established customers of the Oceanside Pole and Cal-Tom brands.”
Tomatoes grown in Oceanside enjoy the benefits of the warm, coastal mountainous microclimate — along with the pole technology used to produce them — which keeps the tomatoes off the ground and in pristine condition, lending to greater flavor and shelf life. Beneath the poles, mulch conserves moisture and prevents weeds, and drip irrigation is used to optimize moisture control. Enhanced air circulation enables the tomatoes to mature evenly.
After harvest, the tomatoes are sorted by color and place-packed by hand in 22-pound bulk boxes on the same day. The season extends from late July through early December.
Oppenheimer also markets greenhouse tomatoes from the U.S., Canada and Mexico and organic greenhouse tomatoes grown in Canada.
Source: The Oppenheimer Group