All European Tomato Data in One Dashboard

Article originally published by Fresh Plaza.

What kinds of tomatoes are in stores? What is the price per kilo, the origin, the packaging form, the size? Following the Berry Monitor, Roamler has launched a Tomato Monitor, bringing European tomato data together in a single dashboard.

Roamler has worked with the fruit and vegetable chain for ten years, supplying detailed information and photos to breeders, growers and retailers through a smartphone community. A subscription service launched for soft fruit; interest from the tomato sector followed quickly, and weekly visits to key retailers began in October.

Covering the Entire European Market

We've begun in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland. Our customers have indicated that the demand is highest in these three markets. Other countries like Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, France, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands will soon follow.

That means we're gradually covering the entire European market. We're also including other fruit vegetables in this monitor. That includes bell peppers, cucumbers, and eggplants.

We're now providing this data to parties in the whole chain. We've noticed they have many similar questions. That's why we offer this data in a single clear dashboard. That's also way more sustainable. Our people only have to enter a store once. We can then create an attractively priced continuous monitor for the entire sector.

Data for Growers, Breeders and Packers

And everyone uses the information they deem most valuable. Exporters and supermarkets mainly want to know about price and origin. Growers want to know the product's in-store quality. Breeders are more interested in what varieties are being offered. And packers want to know which packaging form is used. Now they can see all this in the same dashboard. It has the type of tomato and its country of origin. But we also register supplier information, where possible with GLN/GGN code.

Strengthen Your Position

A lot of assumptions are still made about shelf information. People use their gut instinct for this. This monitor gives you the latest data, enabling you to strengthen your position because you can easily identify trends. That means you have a significant lead in knowledge. It offers buyers and account managers in Northwest Europe tools. They can use these to further develop category management for their retail clients.

A Combination of AI and the Human Eye

Is it difficult to encompass the fragmented tomato supply?

We use a combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the human eye. We know which information we want. We can, therefore, extract a lot of data automatically from packaging and shelf tags. Together with a trained eye, this leads to the highest quality data. We then display this in an easy-to-navigate online dashboard. You can thus get an accessible overview of the data in real-time.

The dashboard now has a new option. You can use it to easily compare what different stores are offering. That includes the corresponding price points. For example, users can compare the current offer at Lidl in Germany with the UK. You can thus easily analyse deviations in the tomato offer too. All photos are easy to view and download from the online environment.

Monitors for further categories are expected to follow those for soft fruit and tomatoes.