South Australia Produce Market's subsidiary Australian Produce Collective has launched a brand of retail-ready packaged produce for overseas markets.
Consumers walking into a store and asking for 'Fresh Please’ is the vision of Australia Produce Collective (APC) chief executive officer Craig Katz.
The founder of export company Purus, Mr Katz saw the opportunity to establish APC during a business trip in July 2015, when he met the CEO of the South Australian Produce Market, and spoke about the issues companies were facing with exporting- such as not getting paid on time or not having a great experience.
“So, I said, there’s a different way to look at this." Mr Katz said.
"By the end of 2015, we had established APC, a subsidiary of South Australian Produce market. The idea is to consolidate growers and export under the one brand and establish a strong network of buyers."
APC represents some 35 growers in South Australia, with plans to eventually establish a similar operation in Queensland to service increasing export activity in that region.
Kicking off in Abu Dhabi, APC will airfreight fresh produce, all packaged under the Fresh Please brand direct to retailers across Asia and the Middle East, including Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.
"Normally, someone in Singapore or elsewhere will contact an agent in Melbourne or Sydney and ask them to find produce for example carrots, and then ship that over. So the grower may never know where their produce is going and margins get squeezed." Mr Katz said.
"Our model is shipping direct to the retailer, and we want to have a presence on retail shelves so that were communicating with consumers, showcasing the produce and educating them about the virtues of Australian produce."
Each packet of Fresh Please produce will have a QR code that consumers can scan to gain more information about the product, including nutritional information, with APC also providing instore promotional material such as recipe cards.
"It’s a big investment, in terms of the packaging, promotional material and working with retail managers to educate staff about the produce, but we felt we had to do it.," Mr Katz said.
“The goal is to establish a network of clients and expand our grower base to offer premium produce to key overseas markets."
