Tomato Jos Farming and Processing Limited, has launched its much-anticipated Tomato Jos paste variant into the Nigerian market. The new tomato paste variant, packaged in a 65-gram sachet, is produced directly from fresh tomatoes grown in the country, thereby guaranteeing superior flavour and colour. It is the company’s first consumer product since the commencement of operations at its multi-billion-naira factory in Kaduna last year.

Speaking at an event to unveil the Tomato Jos sachet variant on the 17th of March 2022, the Managing Director of the company, Mira Mehta said: “It is a dream come true. Though entrepreneurship is full of ups and downs, I feel encouraged whenever I see my passion for this business ignite in one of my colleagues. I am incredibly proud of the Tomato Jos team for their hard work and belief that we could achieve something on this scale. The facility is the only one of its kind in Nigeria that can produce sachet tomato products directly from fresh tomatoes. The product is currently available throughout Kaduna State, and we intend to expand to more states by the end of 2022. Our company’s theme for 2021 was ‘Let’s Do This!’ and, well, we did it! The future looks bright for Tomato Jos. We will continue to grow until we become a household name across Nigeria”.

Also commenting on the development, the Managing Director of FCMB, Mrs. Yemisi Edun, described the Bank’s funding of the factory as another landmark intervention to boost agribusiness, food security, and food sufficiency in Nigeria.

The processing plant sits on 500 hectares of land under lease from the Kaduna State Government, with a potential tomato cultivation area of 300 hectares. In January 2020, we broke ground on our tomato paste processing plant and by March 2021 the factory was operational. The facility is the only one of its kind in Nigeria that can produce sachet tomato products directly from fresh tomatoes grown in the country thereby guaranteeing superior flavor and color. The company has over 200 full/contract workers, and a network of over 3,000 smallholder farmers who partner with us to grow year-round at yields well above the national average. 

Till date, Tomato Jos has received investment support from the Central Bank of Nigeria through FCMB, Goodwell Investments B.V. through Alitheia IDF, VestedWorld, the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund, The Morning Star Company, and other private investors. The company plans to raise an additional $10 million in debt and equity to fund further growth and expand its reach across the country.

Tomato Jos Farming and Processing Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tomato Jos Incorporated, is a for-profit social enterprise that believes in the power of local production for local consumption. We transform smallholder farmers from subsistence growers to successful commercial producers by empowering them to focus on year-round crop cultivation of tomatoes, maize, soya, wheat, and other crops. The products are offtake from the partner farmers and processed into value-added consumer packaged goods for the Nigerian and West African markets.

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