Tozer Seeds — Breeding Excellence From Cobham to the World
A Legacy of Innovation in Vegetable Breeding
Tozer Seeds is a family-owned British vegetable breeding company headquartered in Surrey, England. It traces its roots back to Arthur Tozer, who founded the firm in 1944 in the small town of Cobham.
After Arthur’s passing in 1950, the work was carried forward by Dermot Dawson, a PhD geneticist who guided the company toward modern hybrid breeding. The business stayed in family hands and evolved. Today, Peter Dawson serves as Chairman, while Steven Winterbottom is Managing Director.
The Chilli Breeding Program & Armageddon
Tozer has long focused on pushing boundaries in plant genetics to meet real grower needs — vigor, uniformity, yield, and harvest speed. Their chilli breeding program is one of those frontiers.
Armageddon was conceived over five years of selective breeding and field trials. It stands as the first British-bred hybrid superhot chilli developed by Tozer. Tozer’s goal was to shorten days to maturity, maximize uniformity, and ensure grower viability, while still delivering serious heat.
In the development process, Tozer collaborated with growers like Salvatore Genovese in the UK as trial partners for Armageddon.
Why Tozer Matters
- Independent & Family-Owned: Tozer resists corporate consolidation, retaining agility and personal relationships in the seed industry.
- Global Reach: Though based in the UK, Tozer runs operations in the USA, Holland, and Spain to facilitate global distribution.
- Breeding Prowess: The firm was behind the world’s first commercial F1 hybrid celery and parsnip lines, demonstrating their influence beyond chillis.
- Vision for Future Crops: Tozer invests in niche vegetables, pot plants, and compact varieties suited for indoor growing and modern supply chains.