WE’RE HELPING SUNRIPE EXPLORE COMMERCIALISATION OF SHELF-STABLE PRODUCTS FROM SURPLUS SNACK TOMATOES

Sunripe is an award-winning, family-owned agribusiness and the largest producer of field-grown snacking tomatoes in Australia.  Growing in Bundaberg, Queensland, Sunripe believe in harnessing the power of sun, soil and fresh air to bring premium-quality produce to food lovers across Australia. Blending traditional farming methods with modern technology, we grow, harvest, pack and supply seasonal produce that arrives fresh and tasty – just as nature intended. 

Why is reducing food waste important for you and your business? 

This project helped Sunripe to not only achieve their sustainability goals, but also to create new product ranges, helping to generate additional value from their crops and reduce their on-farm food waste.  

What was the food waste challenge you needed to overcome? 

Tomatoes are highly perishable, creating pressure towards growers to minimise food waste in their business.  Sunripe yields more than 10,000 Tonnes of fruit annually, however an estimated 30% of that production ends up as either stock feed or compost. Which is mostly attributed to the snack tomatoes not meeting market product specifications (i.e blemishes).  

What opportunity identified itself? 

The Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI) supported Sunripe by providing technical expertise and funding resources to build research capacity in this space. Through collaborative research development activity with End Food Waste CRC and QDPI, Sunripe have explored approaches to develop a range of value-added consumer products from second and third-grade tomatoes to tackle this challenge.  

The Food Innovation team at QDPI facilitated a series of industry workshops and consumer focus groups to guide product development concepts with close collaboration with Sunripe. Carrying out a consumer-led product design process, where the research team and industry partner worked closely with end-market consumers to achieve the final result.  

What are the outcomes of this project and the next steps to increase your impact? 

This project identified seven key valorisation pathways which were refined through the consumer-led product design  process, to three. The shortlisted products for development included relish, juice and semi-dried tomato – which all have a shelf life of over 6 months and were identified as highly desired by consumers.  

This project established the foundational framework for further research, development, and product commercialisation. It has now entered phase two, focusing on commercialising their relish and semi-dried tomato products, while also expanding their value-added range to include surplus capsicum and zucchini.  

How has addressing this benefited you? 

By tackling food waste, Sunripe has reduced losses and created circular economy jobs through contract manufacturing. This approach has also created opportunities to increase production output by making better use of their crop yields. 

“This project has allowed us to create new product ranges, helps to generate additional value from our crops and achieve our sustainability goals to reduce waste.” –  Samara De Paoli – Administrative Director Sunripe