Skip To Content Primary Navigation Secondary Navigation
Nature Fresh Farms Logo Nature Fresh Farms Logo

Naturefresh Logo

  • Products
    • Organics
    • Tomatoes
    • Peppers
    • Cucumbers
    • Strawberries
  • Recipes
    • Tomato Recipes
    • Pepper Recipes
    • Cucumber Recipes
  • Learn
    • Educator Resources
    • Greenhouse Education Center
    • Eating Healthy 101
    • In The Kitchen
    • Discovery Center
  • Blog
  • About
    • The Grow-To People
    • Peter Quiring
    • Food Safety
    • Building Partnerships
  • Sustainable Growing
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Sustainable Growing
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Products
    • Organics
    • Tomatoes
    • Peppers
    • Cucumbers
    • Strawberries
  • Recipes
    • Tomato Recipes
    • Pepper Recipes
    • Cucumber Recipes
  • Learn
    • Educator Resources
    • Greenhouse Education Center
    • Eating Healthy 101
    • In The Kitchen
    • Discovery Center
  • Blog
  • About
    • The Grow-To People
    • Peter Quiring
    • Food Safety
    • Building Partnerships

The Discovery Center Experience

You’d think I would have issues eating 20+ Cherry Tomatoes before 8AM on a Wednesday – surprisingly, that’s not the case!

I’ve really changed my perspective on Tomatoes. Before I started working at NatureFresh™, I had never eaten them before – now, I’m part of a team that is helping decide the next Tomato varieties that get sold at grocery stores.

I was recruited to the Discovery Center’s consumer panel program as a “Professional Taster” at the beginning of the year. To join this team, I needed to put my taste buds to the test, trying to tell the difference between salty, sweet, sour, and bitter flavors. Thankfully, my buds didn’t fail me, and I passed!

Main walkway leading to the Discovery Center

Our Discovery Center, which is a 2.5-acre trial greenhouse and research center, is housed under the same roof as one of our Bell Pepper ranges, so we need to walk (or hop on a golf cart and drive) past the Pepper plants to get to the Discovery Center for tasting panel sessions. So, every week, I don my safety suit – the one that makes us all look like walking-talking marshmallows – and make my way to taste our newest varieties. It’s always a treat to travel down the massive middle walkway and see how much taller the Bell Pepper plants have grown since the week before.

After a quick greeting from the Trial Development team, I get assigned my room number and make my way to the tasting rooms. Once you open the door, you’re immediately awash in a glowing red light. This is a pretty clever part of the consumer panel experience – the red light makes it difficult to tell the true color of the Tomatoes you’re tasting (so it’s easier for you to focus solely on their flavor). The rooms were also built to cancel out any noise from the greenhouse, so there is no way you can get distracted from the Tomatoes you’re about to devour!

Sample tray in tasting room

At the station inside the room, you’re given a clipboard, a pallet cleanser, and a tray with a range of Tomatoes to sample. As you taste each Tomato, you fill out the form on the clipboard with all your observations. Analyzing and interpreting the flavor profile of each sample is one of the main aspects of the consumer panel process – after all, the Grow-To People pride themselves on having a “flavor-first mentality” (as Matt Q. would say).

It’s always fun to talk with your fellow panelists (after you’re done eating, of course) to see which samples you each liked best. It’s tough to know if you really like the same samples because our Trials team keeps that information top secret – but guessing adds a whole new level of excitement to the process!

Tomberry Tomato

I think my favorite part about being a member of the consumer panel team is that we have a direct impact on what people eat – and that is a huge honor! For example, the Tomberry® Tomato went through our Discovery Center program, and whenever consumer panelists ate it, it got incredibly positive reviews. This feedback allowed our team to push the Tomberry® forward and quickly introduce it to the retail space. And now it’s a hit!

Will I be one of the first tasters of a revolutionary Tomato? Will we discover a groundbreaking variety that changes the world of produce forever? Will the Discovery Center uncover an even tinier Tomato than the Tomberry®, breaking our own ‘World’s Smallest Tomato’ record?

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

2018/10/17

  • How We Grow icon How We Grow
  • The Grow-To People
View all posts tagged with Discovery Center Discovery Center View all posts tagged with Innovation Innovation View all posts tagged with Tomatoes Tomatoes View all posts tagged with Tomberry Tomberry View all posts tagged with Trials Trials
Photo of Brittany MacAulay

Brittany MacAulay

Marketing Coordinator | Recent TOMZ Red Cherry Tomato addict | #LeafsNation

  • Email

Snack smarter with our guide to snacking healthy on-the-go!

Our guide includes healthy eating tips, delicious recipes, and inspiration from our community.

Get the guide

Categories

  • The Kitchen icon The Kitchen
  • Newsroom icon Newsroom
  • How We Grow icon How We Grow
  • Healthy Lifestyles icon Healthy Lifestyles
  • Community icon Community
  • Green In The City icon Green In The City
  • The Grow-To People
  • Uncategorized icon Uncategorized
  • The Bug Brigade icon The Bug Brigade

Tags

Tomatoes, Greenhouse Grown, Healthy Eating, Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, Sustainability, Grow To People, Community, Education, Innovation, GreenInTheCity, Fresh Produce

Authors

  • Nature Fresh Farms
  • Noelle Martin
  • Molly DeGrandchamp
  • Brittany MacAulay
  • Bryn B. & Dana C.
  • Adam Mefrakis
  • Lindsay Fager
  • Marcos Diaz
  • Herman Fehr
  • Cole Burkholder
  • Hailey Quigley
  • Noah Mefrakis
  • Gluten Intolerance Group
  • Mitch Monaco
  • Jacy Brydges
  • The Produce Nerd
  • Danielle Ferreira
  • The Produce Mom
  • Tina Friesen
  • Tyler St. Pierre
  • Bryn Parent
  • Zak Braun
  • Cam Lyons
  • Chef Zach Lightfoot
  • Chris Veillon
  • Stephanie Mastronardi
  • Kathy Birkett
  • Kelly Noseworthy
  • Dave Froese
  • Frankie Fresh
  • Peter Quiring
  • Produce For Kids
  • Chef Henry
  • Jack Hannigan

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube

Latest Tweets

@Phil_4xvaxxed Thank you so much for the support, we really appreciate it! So glad you’re enjoying your products! 😊🍅🥒

@Nature_Fresh 9 hours ago

RT @Bell_LetsTalk: Today is Bell Let’s Talk Day! We are thrilled to be highlighting 30 organizations across Canada that are working to cr…

@Nature_Fresh 1 days ago

Since launching, our #Hiiros #Tomatoes have made quite the impression on everyone who has tasted them! 🍅 Learn more about why this product is the talk of the Tomato category: https://t.co/WrApLMAeXK

@Nature_Fresh 2 days ago
Fresh Education for the Future

Green In The City 

Fresh Education for the Future

Veggie Storage Guide: The Best Way To Store Vegetables To Keep Them Fresh

The Kitchen 

Veggie Storage Guide: The Best Way To Store Vegetables To Keep Them Fresh

Nature Fresh Farms and the University of Windsor Looks to Bring Clean Transportation in New Partnership

Newsroom 

Nature Fresh Farms and the University of Windsor Looks to Bring Clean Transportation in New…

Fresh Updates

Join our email list for fresh updates straight from the greenhouse! We'll send you blog posts, recipes, and events in your area. Learn more about why you should sign up here.

What would you like to learn more about?
Select all that apply.*

By entering my email I hereby consent to receiving emails for the above stated purpose. Subscribers may at any time withdraw their consent to receive emails.

Javascript is required to submit this form.

Products

  • Organics
  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Cucumbers

Learn

  • Learn
  • Educator Resources
  • Greenhouse Education Center
  • Blog
  • Discovery Center

About Us

  • The Grow-To People
  • Our Guest Workers
  • Peter Quiring
  • The Bug Brigade
  • Food Safety
  • Sustainable Growing

Contact

  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • FAQs

Get In Touch

  • 634 Mersea Road 7, RR5
    Leamington, Ontario
    N8H 3V8
  • info@naturefresh.ca
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube
A Nature Fresh Farms Learning Initiative. © 2023 Nature Fresh Farms. All rights reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube
Nature Fresh Logo