TOMATOTALK KETCHUP UPDATE 4 MARCH By: Niels Honders. made, it was time for a repeat taste test. This took place in two locations, in Burgerveen

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1 4 MARCH 2016 TOMATOTALK KETCHUP UPDATE By: Niels Honders made, it was time for a repeat taste test. This took place in two locations, in Burgerveen It s time for another ketchup catch-up! As you may have read in a previous edition of TomatoTalk, we are currently in the process of developing a ketchup made from our leftover tomatoes. We have been working hard to and at the Naaldwijk offices. Our tasters were given three different ketchups to taste: the old Looye ketchup, the new Looye ketchup and the well-known Heinz ketchup. A total of 34 employees took part. improve the flavour of this ketchup, and thanks to the positive feedback from the previous taste test we have been able to make some very worthwhile adjustments to the recipe. Most importantly, we adjusted the colour, thickness and sweetness. Once these adjustments were From the results we could see that the changes have had a positive effect on the taste. Looye s new ketchup was less acidic and slightly sweeter than before, with the result that the taste was rated as vastly improved compared with the first

2 taste test. In addition, the new ketchup was rated highly on thickness and colour, while the old one was still found to be too thin. taste test, the changes were given a resounding thumbs-up, and our Looye ketchup was definitely not seen as the poor relation of current ketchups. It is a very unique product with its own Both taste tests revealed that Heinz ketchup was very easy to identify, as it tastes the way we expect ketchup to taste. The Looye ketchup will taste slightly different from the ketchup we all know and love, partly because it uses fresh Piccolo tomatoes. These give it a natural tomato special flavour and appearance, and we want to keep it that way. So once again thank you to everyone who took part in the taste test we are working hard to get the ketchup finished and ready for sale. Here s hoping that we get to add ketchup to our product range one day! colour and make it slightly thinner, but they are also responsible for its very unique flavour. All in all, we are pleased with the results of the NEW GET THE TASTE! POSTERS As you all know by now, Enjoy the Taste has been changed to Get the Taste!, and we have also made a few changes to the rules. That s why you will see new posters on the wall saying Get the Taste! in English, Polish and Dutch.

3 LAMB WITH AUBERGINE AND DREAM TOMATOES Ingredients: 2 sides of lamb ribs 2 aubergines 8 ripe tomatoes 8 cloves garlic Dried oregano Sea salt and pepper Fresh basil 15 olives, pitted 1 large handful of mint leaves Pinch of sugar 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar Olive oil Preperation: Pre-heat the oven to 200 C. Score the lamb fat diagonally to give the meat a lovely crust. Cut the aubergines into slices about 2.5 cm thick and cut the tomatoes in half. Sprinkle the aubergine slices on both sides with a little salt and leave to stand for half an hour. Then pat dry and brush with a little olive oil. Fry the slices on both sides until they start to brown. Arrange the slices on one half of a greased baking sheet. Place the tomato halves and the whole garlic cloves next to them and sprinkle the tomatoes with the oregano, basil leaves, salt and pepper. Season the lamb to taste and brown lightly in a frying pan on all sides. Sprinkle the meat with a little olive oil and place the lamb - skin side up - alongside the tomatoes on the baking sheet. Put the baking sheet in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the lamb is still a little pink (or leave to cook for longer if you prefer). After about 25 minutes in the oven, add the olives so that they are warmed through by the time you serve this delicious dish. To make the mint oil, place the mint leaves, a pinch of salt and sugar in a mortar and pestle or a blender. Crush or blitz until a soft mixture is formed. Add the red wine vinegar and 6 tablespoons of olive oil and mix well. Drizzle the sauce over the lamb and vegetables before serving.

4 COLUMN Jos Looije LOOYE KWEKERS We launched our new logo on 2 February, and we are delighted to have done so. First and foremost, the new logo symbolises the new phase our company has entered. And this new phase goes hand in hand with a new identity for our company. We chose the name Looye Kwekers because we want consumers to see us as growers of delicious, stylish and significant tomatoes. Because that s what it s all about. But there is also a connection between the Looye name and the triple Y element above the logo. There were always discussions ongoing in our family about the spelling of Looye/Looije. My father used to spell his name with a y, and this spelling was also used when I was young. There are so many connections that it was a logical step to opt for Looye. look after the crops and harvest and pack the tomatoes in the greenhouses and the packaging facility every day. Because it is what happens there that decides whether the tomatoes we grow will be appreciated by the consumers. To get the thumbs-up from our consumers, we will need to focus primarily on flavour and quality. We need to see things from the consumer s point of view if we are to succeed in this. It is up to us to draw attention to this in as many places as possible within Looye so that everyone understands what it is about. The result will be that we will no longer be dependent on individual people inside and outside the company, but on the way we structure the organisation. However, the new phase doesn t mean that everything that happened in the past wasn t good. Indeed, all of this was necessary to get us where we are today. The past has been an Our aim in doing all this is to encourage people and nature to grow in a significant way. To deliver flavour so that people can enjoy flavour. We can be proud of Looye!!! excellent basis for taking our company to the next level. But now we have entered a phase in which we need to transform into an organisation with as much accountability as possible at grass roots level especially among our staff who

5 WHY DO WE ORGANIZE THE ELECTIONS? By: Tomek Pluta Some of you may have wondered why or if we do need the elections for the OR in the first place. That s why I thought that I could tell you a little bit about the reason of us making it happen and benefits that you can get from its existence. First of all we re obligated by Dutch law to create the OR because our company has more than 50 people employed. Second thing is that the OR is an institution that exists to protect the rights of employees and advise the management team with important decisions such as building new greenhouse or selling a part of the company. That means that before such important step the OR will also consider if it s good for employees. company and we have to be careful not to hurt our employees in the process. The OR will help our management team to keep employee s wellbeing in mind and we hope that you also will be eager to help by participating in the elections. If you have any questions members of GTT will be happy to answer them. You can ask: Third of many roles of the OR is keeping an eye if the rights of workers are applied in practice. So if an employee has a problem with supervisor or doesn t get materials or services that he or she rightfully deserve, then it s absolutely recommended to report it by the OR and they will handle the rest and speak in his/her name 1. Basia Kolodziejczyk Naaldwijk Kas 2. Cynthia Boekestijn, Grada Terlouw Naaldwijk Kantoor/Verpak 3. Teddy Hriskova Burgeveen Kas 1 4. Lukasz Hiszpanski, Tomasz Pluta Burgerveen Kas 2 with Looye management. It s a short article but I hope that I could help you understand the decision to establish the OR and what you can get from it. Looye is a fast growing

6 INTRODUCING... Martijn van den Berg Martijn van den Berg joined our sales team in February. Martijn spent his first week with us working flat out at Fruit Logistica in Berlin. Now that his induction period is over, he is well ensconced in our office and has taken the time to introduce himself to you through this column. Welcome to our company. What exactly does your role at Looye entail? I am Martijn and I have been working as account manager in the sales department at Looye since 1 February My main task will be to sell Avalantino and Dreamtomatoes, and I will also be helping Mervyn with day-to-day sales. I am really looking forward to it. Groenprojekten, while completing my degree in Business Administration at the same time. One of my biggest hobbies is playing sports. I love Tell us a little more about yourself. Who is Martijn? It s so nice to be able to introduce myself to you in this column. I am Martijn van den Berg, I am 26 and I live in Monster. I have had my own place there since January When I was young, my parents had a tomato nursery. So working in greenhouses and with tomatoes in particular is in my DNA. I gained my MBO (secondary school leaving qualification) at Holland College in Naaldwijk in After that I joined the army, where I was a sergeant in the Air Mobile Brigade. After 1½ years I decided to leave the army and go back to college. I took the Gardens, Parks and Landscapes course at Wellant College and at the Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences. After this, I started working full-time as a work planner/project manager at Weverling football and tennis and go to the gym regularly. I also like to travel and hang out with my girlfriend or my friends. What are your initial impressions of Looye? What a professional organisation! During my induction I spent a week shadowing people in the greenhouses and the packaging facility. It s fascinating to see how that process works. I was also impressed by how helpful everyone was, telling me all about the company. And I have noticed that everybody here is very enthusiastic about their work. I am really happy to be part of this great company. Which is your favourite country to visit on holiday? Last summer my girlfriend and I went to Italy.

7 We did a sort of road trip across the country with the car and a tent. We had a fantastic time. and drink there definitely make it my favourite country for a holiday. We went to lots of beautiful places like Lago Maggiore, Como, Venice, Tuscany and Siena. The way of life in Italy and the wonderful food AVAILABILITY OF OUR HONEYTOMATOES Since that we are working together with RIMATO we have expanded our production with 20%. In the past it happened quite often that we were not able to comply with the requested quantities of Honeytomatoes. Because of the expansion aware of this we have send them a letter stating that we will allways have Honeytomatoes available. We want everybody inthe Netherlands, Germany and Belgium or elswhere to Get the Taste and enjoy our Honeytomatoes! with RIMATO this should not be a problem anymore. To make our clients and salespoints BIRTHDAYS Katrin Mikk 4-3 Jan Bos 5-3 Bastiaan Bouwman 6-3 Karolina Kaliszewska 8-3 Mateusz Marek 8-3 Beata Swierzewska 8-3 Michal Wika 9-3 Iwona Gajecka 10-3 Aleksandra Raut 10-3 Anna Rybczynska 12-3 Magdalena Sowa 14-3 Bozena Czapiewska 16-3 Robbert de Jong 17-3 Katarzyna Kotulak 17-3

8 WHAT KEEPS YOU BUSY... Katarzyna Kwiecień Hi! My name is Kasia and I am 27. I come from a small town in southern Poland called Skopanie. In the Netherlands I live in the picturesque town of Vlaardingen. Music and sport are my inseparable companions whenever I have any free time. At weekends, I like to spend cosy evenings at home with close friends. Like almost every woman, I love to spend the money I earn on new fashion items. You just have to look at Cinderella to see how important new shoes are in our lives! :) I can safely say that I am addicted to shopping. Fortunately that s my only vice.... in your personal life? I like to surround myself with open, honest and brave people with a great sense of humour. They recharge my life batteries and make sure I always have a smile on my face. A good team makes spontaneous excursions into the unknown possible I m a great proponent of that.... in your work? I have been working the night shift in the packaging facility at Looye for a year now. Where has the time gone?! I really don t know. I started thinking about moving abroad in January last year. At the time I was convalescing in a nursing home and lost my previous job. My brother, who had worked in various jobs outside the country in the past, persuaded me to think about emigrating to the Netherlands. extremely professional and has given me all the important information and shown me my key tasks. I continued my life s journey in the workplace, where I spent time on several lines and learned new tasks. After a couple of months I moved from trays to the line that only handles 1.4 and 3 kg boxes, and then to the position of controller. I also got to know the wrapping line operative and packer roles. Time will tell what tasks await me in the future.... in the world? Besides travelling around the company, I also like to travel the world. I love to visit remote parts of Europe and get to know new people and different cultures and customs. I enjoy tasting new dishes from around the world and then cooking them myself at home. But there is one subject I avoid at all costs: politics. So I registered with NL Jobs and subsequently joined Looye Kwekers. I started out working on line 3 under the supervision of my line manager Katarzyna Kowalczyk. Katarzyna has been