Our company’s mission was to supply improved varieties of vegetable seed to the many market gardens which then supplied vegetables into the London markets.
The company was founded by renowned seedsman Arthur Tozer who gave the company its name. He was by all accounts a man with a passion for plants. After the sudden death of Arthur in 1950, the company was taken over by his plant breeder Dermot Dawson. Dermot was a PhD educated geneticist with a great belief in the potential of vegetable breeding to improve Horticulture. He further focused the company on developing significantly improved varieties and producing high-quality seed.
In the 1970s the company was passed to Dermot’s son Peter Dawson, also a PhD educated plant breeder. Under Peter’s leadership the company went on to develop the world’s first commercial F1 hybrid parsnip and celery varieties. It was because of these innovations that national and then international interest developed in our products. Peter Dawson remains the Chairman of Tozer Seeds, although day to day responsibilities now rest with MD Steven Winterbottom.
Today we export our seed around the world. We began our Californian based US business in 2005.This was closely followed by an expansion into Spain with the creation of Tozer Iberica. In 2021 our latest international office was opened in Andijk, Holland, at the centre of the Dutch Seed Valley. Our success is based on the ongoing quality of our seeds, our award winning plant breeding and the high levels of personal service we offer. We remain at heart a family business. We have traditional values but with a commitment to embrace the future. Today Laurence Dawson, the grandson of Dermot works for the company, his presence ensures that the family nature of our company continues.