How do consumers appreciate differences between common and uncommon tomato varieties?

A.A.M. Poelman*, G.B. Dijksterhuis

Wageningen UR, Agrotechnology & Food Innovations, the Netherlands

 astrid.poelmanwur.nl

Generally, ‘heirloom’ tomatoes are considered varieties that are at least 50 years old and are able to reproduce without seeds (no hybrids). There are many different varieties and their appearance is very heterogeneous in colour (e.g. red, yellow, green, brown), pattern (uniform colour or two e.g. yellow and green stripes), size and shape (round, egg-like, or irregular shape). To successfully market these tomatoes, one needs to know which varieties are most liked and correspond best with consumers’ expectations of heirloom.

This was studied in an experimental consumer study with 57 consumers who frequently eat tomatoes. Each consumer evaluated a range of heirloom tomatoes on appearance, thereafter on taste. The consumer group was split in half and each received separate instructions. One group was presented a story about heirloom and modern tomatoes after which they had to score each tomato on a visual analogue scale, anchored “completely heirloom tomato” on one side and “completely modern tomato” on the other side. These instructions can be considered an aid to indirectly assess prototypicality. The other group scored the tomatoes on visual attractiveness and liking using nine-point scales.

Results about the appearance of the tomatoes indicated that consumers clearly distinguished tomatoes with regard to the level of perceived “modernity”. There was a linear relationship (r = 0.48) between perceived “modernity” and the visual attractiveness. Tomatoes most liked and perceived as most modern were red, round, regular shaped and the size of a cherry to loose tomato. The more a tomato deviated from this “prototypical” tomato, the less it was liked, and the more consumers perceived it as a heirloom tomato. Red tomatoes with an irregular shape scored relatively high on appreciation, indicating the importance of the red colour on appreciation. The results on the taste of the tomatoes indicated a similar pattern.

Key words: Consumer, prototypicality, liking, heirloom tomato