Jacobus’s son Jos joins the business and starts specialising in growing tomatoes. A few years later he is joined by his brother Vincent. 

Just before the turn of the millennium, the business expands abroad. Vincent Looije takes the helm at a new branch in Aguilas, Spain. By growing tomatoes in the Mediterranean climate, Jos and Vincent set about bridging the gap in production in the cold, grey Dutch autumn. 

Almost 20 years later, in 2017, Looije Aguilas splits away from the Dutch parent company Looye Kwekers, a step that enables it to continue as a fully independent business focusing on the Spanish market. 
 

Jos Looije had been looking for a tomato variety with a perfect flavour for many years. In 2005, he stumbled by chance on the Piccolo, a cherry vine tomato with a glossy red colour and a unique honey-sweet flavour. In 2009 we launch this unique and delicious tomato variety under the name “Honeytomatoes” – a title we reserve for only the very best Piccolo tomatoes. 

Looye Kwekers is undergoing healthy growth. But space is limited in the Westland area, which makes expansion difficult. So we decide to expand our greenhouse acreage by opening a nursery in Burgerveen. 

Naturally, we want to grow ever better tomatoes, and that means that our organisation also needs to constantly improve. So to make ourselves more professional, we want to keep as many aspects of the business as we can in-house. We start running our own sales and marketing, for example, and plans are drawn up in Naaldwijk to pack the tomatoes on the site where they are grown. With this new business strategy in place, the move from Maasdijk to the greenhouses in Naaldwijk is a very logical step.

Growing the very best tomatoes not only means keeping a close eye on the latest innovations, but also listening carefully to the market. We had been receiving increasing numbers of enquiries asking whether we can launch a high-quality tomato brand of a larger variety alongside Honeytomatoes, and after much in-depth research we opt for Avalantino. We sell the crème de la crème of the Avalantino tomatoes we harvest in our greenhouses under the brand name Looye Joyn®. 

The growers at Looye present the newest member of the Looye family: Looye To Go tomatoes. A snack tomato concept for enjoying fresh and sweet tomatoes on the go, in a convenient, resealable cardboard take-away package. Selected for flavor by the Looye team.

Looye Kwekers has received a Superior Taste Award from the International Taste Institute for its premium products Looye Honeytomatoes and Looye Joyn tomatoes. Looye Honeytomatoes received a three-star rating with an exceptional overall score of over 91%. Looye Joyn was given a two-star rating with an impressive score of 87%. Being recognised like this for our Looye Honeytomatoes and Looye Joyn tomatoes highlights our commitment to consistently supplying with the very best, tasty tomatoes.