Britons give classic round tomato the red card as coloured and vine varieties score

‘Now we’ve got new varieties that not only look great but taste fantastic,’ said one leading grower. Photograph: Tim Gainey/Alamy View image in fullscreen ‘Now we’ve got new varieties that not only look great but taste fantastic,’ said one leading grower. Photograph: Tim Gainey/Alamy Britons give classic round tomato the red card as coloured and vine varieties score Premium cherry-on-the-vine are poised to take top spot in Britain’s £1bn-a-year tomato market For a long time the classic round, red tomato has dominated British salads and sandwiches, but its supremacy is coming under threat as sales of rainbow colours and the upmarket rival “cherry on the vine” take off. “Non-red tomatoes” sales are up 21% this year, a growth rate that far exceeds the overall market, according to Paul Faulkner, of Evesham Vale Growers. This category covers yellow, orange, green, purple, brown and even striped varieties, which are becoming a more common sight in British supermarkets. “We’ve got consumers used to the fact that tomatoes don’t have to be red,” said Faulkner. The grower, which supplies Sainsbury’s and Aldi, is in lockstep with the trends reshaping the tomato industry, having diverted 20% of its growing area to an orange, cherry, on-the-vine variety. In the past growers had worked with seed breeders on colourful varieties but, while they had looked the part, they “didn’t taste great”, said Faulkner. “Now we’ve got new varieties that not only look great but taste fantastic.” Britons spend just over a £1bn a year on tomatoes, according to the grocery data analyst Worldpanel by Numerator. In the year to 14 June, sales are up 3% on the previous 52 weeks. Within that figure, non-red tomatoes are the fastest growing part of the market. View image in fullscreen Blue bayou tomatoes. ‘If you see colour it makes you feel good,’ said Paul Thomas, of Isle of Wight Growers. Photograph: Matthew Taylor/Alamy In a sign of how tastes are changing, the data also indicates that sales of premium cherry-on-the-vine tomatoes are on track to overtake the round salad variety this year. While the classic round is still the biggest seller, with annual sales of £190m, its popularity is slipping. “We expect premium cherry on the vine will overtake them this year,” said Faulkner. Sales of classic tomatoes are about £5m below 2025 levels while their upmarket rival has gained £16m to £180m. Over a two-year period, sales of non-red tomatoes have doubled to £50m. Most supermarkets are now selling large variety boxes of British tomatoes that can work out cheaper a kilogram than smaller packs. Waitrose says sales of its £5 heritage tomato collection box are 22.5% up on last summer. skip past newsletter promotion after newsletter promotion The bigger colour choice has injected some theatre into what was historically a “boring” market, based on a six-pack of classic round tomatoes, says Simon Conway, chair of the British Tomato Growers’ Association. Given most households buy tomatoes anyway,