SOUTHERN FRESH FOODS AND BIDVEST FRESH HAMILTON A WINNING PARTNERSHIP
Waikato-based Southern Fresh Foods Ltd prides itself on introducing new food product lines to the market.
And company General Manager Jeremy Dunn acknowledges the role that Bidvest Fresh Hamilton has played in no uncertain terms in coming up with some of these new product ideas.
“Southern Fresh and Bidvest Fresh Hamilton has been a local partnership which has blossomed over the years and become very integral in our success. It has helped Southern Fresh become successful,” he said.
“Gus (Tissink) and David (Slack) are totally professional to deal with and we enjoy our working relationship with the Bidvest team. That relationship has gone from strength to strength over the years.”
Southern Fresh Foods Ltd has become innovative in introducing a number of speciality vegetable products such as coloured carrots and golden beetroot to the market in recent years.
“We have listened to the likes of the team at Bidvest and what chefs have asked us to produce for their customers,” says Jeremy.
“The baby vegetable range we supply includes baby beetroot, carrots, fennel, leeks and turnips. They are a top end product of the food service and retail industry and enjoy a steady all year round season,” Dunn says.
“There is good export potential for this product although due to being a labour intensive and expensive crop to grow it is a challenge to be competitive,” he said.
Dunn said right from its beginnings in 2000 Southern Fresh has had a close association with Bidvest Hamilton.
“Growers Direct, which became Bidvest Fresh Hamilton, was one of our first customers and have been extremely supportive of our business from day one. As we have grown they have been instrumental in coming up with new product ideas and assisting us with valuable advice as we have trialled these on the market,” Dunn said.
“One example was our new lettuce salad blend, Misto Insalate,” he said.
Described as a “mixed salad with finesse”, the Italian-themed Misto Insalate has proved a very popular addition to the salad ranks. “With a twist of Italian culture we created a lively and inspiring salad blend with finesse,” Dunn says.
“It has been great for creating a new dimension with its wide selection of leaf types, distinct flavour and aroma of fresh herbs,” he said.
Southern Fresh began trading in 2000 at Tamahere in the Waikato and commenced operations by exporting premium baby vegetables to the top-end of the UK restaurant trade.
“Local demand for these products evolved quickly and within two to three years a solid local customer base had been established,” Jeremy Dunn said.
By the mid 2000s, Southern Fresh recognised that there was real potential in the rapidly expanding baby salad industry and began growing wild rocket for both the food service industry and also for processors supplying the retail trade. This further evolved over a period of time with other products such as baby spinach, mesclun and more recently lettuce and baby cos.
Southern Fresh Foods has seen rapid growth since 2010 and is now a leading player in the specialty produce industry in New Zealand, having developed a good reputation in the market for consistently top quality product and excellent customer service.
This has resulted in considerable pressure on its existing facilities and has seen its cropping land increase from 120 acres up to 300 acres for production while staff numbers have grown from 23 up to 45.
Southern Fresh Foods Ltd has become innovative in introducing a number of speciality vegetable products such as coloured carrots and golden beetroot.
“We have listened to what chefs have asked us to produce,” says Jeremy.
“The baby vegetable range we supply includes baby beetroot, carrots, fennel, leeks and turnips. They are a top end product of the food service and retail industry and enjoy a steady all year round season,” Dunn says.
“There is good export potential for this product although due to being a labour intensive and expensive crop to grow it is a challenge to be competitive,” he said.
Southern Fresh Foods gourmet salad range includes mesclun, baby spinach, wild rocket, lettuce and cos. These products are supplied specifically to the food service industry and are more “main stream” than the baby vegetables, hence the volumes being greater.
Food safety is paramount for Southern Fresh and it has an independently audited food safety programme to ensure that this is the case.
Southern Fresh’ range of herbs includes fresh basil, chives, coriander, Italian parsley and mint.
Southern Fresh has a vision for the future: “We want to be a market leader by becoming a world-class accredited provider of fresh produce,” says Dunn, in outlining the company’s business plan for 2013.