KENYA · GUIDE 0025 · EDITION 4.7
Tree tomato growing in Kenya: Operations and Quality Checks
Deliver the agreed result consistently
Develop the tree tomato offer around a retailer's ripeness and turnover preferences, agreeing whether fruit should arrive ready for sale or require further holding first.
The operating sequence for this offer is:
- Keep tree-tomato planting material, replacement plants and orchard work under a dated record linked to the intended buyer's fruit specification.
- During picking and sorting, separate injured or deteriorating fruit and record sound-fruit weight without assuming every orchard harvest can be sold.
- Pack to limit cuts and compression, confirm the buyer's accepted size range and reconcile delivery deductions with the recorded harvest lot.
Put acceptance into the job record
Fruit should be sound and consistently graded; avoid harvest damage that shortens its usable life.
Ask the retailer to inspect a delivered sample over its normal selling period, documenting which fruit becomes saleable, remains hard or develops visible handling damage.
Inspect at the point where a correction is still possible, then again at handover. Record rejected or incomplete output separately from accepted output. A completed task is not automatically an accepted task, and an invoice does not establish that the customer received the right result.
Measure real capacity
Time preparation, the main operation, transport, cleaning, approvals and correction as applicable. The slowest stage determines how much you can promise. Where two orders need the same person, space or equipment at the same time, resolve the conflict before confirming both deadlines. An additional enquiry should not erase a commitment already made.
| Operating checkpoint | Evidence for this business |
|---|---|
| Before starting | Develop the tree tomato offer around a retailer's ripeness and turnover preferences, agreeing whether fruit should arrive ready for sale or require further holding first. |
| During delivery | During picking and sorting, separate injured or deteriorating fruit and record sound-fruit weight without assuming every orchard harvest can be sold. |
| At acceptance | Ask the retailer to inspect a delivered sample over its normal selling period, documenting which fruit becomes saleable, remains hard or develops visible handling damage. |
| At the pilot review | Record site advice, planting source, ripeness at dispatch and retailer selling observations so expansion depends on repeatable customer outcomes as well as survival of the trees. |
Keep a correction and escalation rule
When inputs, access, specifications or customer instructions change, pause the affected work and confirm the effect on time and cost. Do not quietly lower the acceptance standard to avoid a delayed delivery. Keep rework caused by your error distinct from a customer-requested change of scope and agree the remedy clearly.
A promising farm-gate sample can fail in retail if ripeness varies widely within each delivery and the seller cannot confidently recommend fruit ready for use.
Retain the minimum records needed to investigate a complaint without disclosing unrelated personal information. Use measured delivery and actual acceptance as the basis for expanding capacity, rather than the maximum theoretical output of a tool or production line.
Operating control points for this exact offer
| Sequence | Work method | Release checkpoint |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Have the kitchen cut and prepare an identified tamarillo sample and approve flesh colour and ripeness. | The order names tamarillo/tree tomato and contains a sample photograph; ordinary tomatoes cannot fill it. |
| 2 | Source traceable locally suitable plants and keep any grafted-stock description with the planting record. | Supplier evidence matches the actual plants; uncertain variety or graft claims are resolved before purchase. |
| 3 | Pick sound fruit carefully, avoiding stem damage and mixing hard immature fruit with the approved grade. | Inspect all sides for soft spots and splitting; suspicious fruit is held rather than counted as puree stock. |
| 4 | Weigh a 1 kg sample and have the kitchen peel and prepare it. | Record usable flesh and waste separately; the kitchens measured recovery governs its supplier comparison. |
| 5 | Tare three 5 kg crates and reconcile them with the receiving cook. | Accepted fruit weight excludes damaged returns and container tare; repeat orders use the same colour and ripeness grade. |
Do not substitute a tick for an observation: record the count, measurement, approved sample or evidence reference used at each checkpoint. Mark unresolved work as held and identify who can approve the recheck.
Diagnose a failure before repeating it
| Observed symptom to investigate | Check the cause | Proposed response |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen receives ordinary tomatoes | Compare invoice, source labels and approved photograph | Stop the substitution and correct product identity before dispatch. |
| Peeling loss exceeds sample | Inspect maturity and skin damage across the delivered lot | Regrade and compare like-for-like ripeness before changing the price. |
| Soft bruises appear at receiving | Inspect crate depth and pressure points | Hold damaged fruit and change handling rather than hiding it below sound fruit. |
These are diagnostic prompts, not proof of the cause in a real incident. Separate suspect output, record any correction and repeat the relevant acceptance check. Link rejected units, rework time, replacement materials, customer credits and collection delays to the actual job result.