CHARLOTTE — A new company is changing the tomato game in Charlotte as tariffs and supply chain issues continue across the country.
Pluck’d is working to grow higher-quality tomatoes and get them on plates faster.
The company’s CEO, Ben Alexander, says these tomatoes are different than what you would usually buy in a grocery store. Those usually come from Mexico or Canada. But Pluck’d tomatoes are grown just a quick trip up Interstate 77 in Virginia.
“We built our own software, and we reverse engineered the site selection process based on climate, and we found the optimum climatic location for tomatoes, which so happens to be in the mountains, as high as you can go in Virginia,” Alexander said.
He built a 32-and-a-half-acre greenhouse in Austinville, VA. He says the climate makes it the perfect place to grow tomatoes year-round.
And one of its biggest strengths is its bees.
“If it’s too humid, then... the pollen will stick to the bees and not transfer across,” Alexander said. “And if it’s too dry, then the pollen will not attach to the bee. And so they can’t pollinate effectively unless the conditions are perfect. And so we, by virtue of our optimum climatic location, can create the perfect tomato, year-round.”
Internationally-grown tomatoes are subject to tariffs and have long travel times, he said. And with fuel prices rising, transportation costs are going up.
Pluck’d doesn’t face these challenges and Alexander says the tomatoes are taking off.
“Typically, people will plant tomatoes for maximum volume at the expense of flavor,” he said. “And so we thought, well, let’s just do the opposite. We’re going for maximum flavor, lower yield, so you’re getting a fresher product because it’s grown two hours from Charlotte, with a far improved quality of variety.”