Mel Benecky and Darren Withey, owners of Wild Greens
Tell me about Wild Greens
Wild Greens home delivers premium fresh produce.
We bought the business over three years ago from a fellow who believed that there wasn't much of a future in home delivery fresh produce, and lucky for us there is a growing market for home delivery.
What does the business specialise in?
We target the top end with our business and concentrate on quality and service rather than being price driven like many of our competitors.
We tailor our boxes to provide our customers with what they really want instead of what we think they may want.
What sets your business apart from other delivery services?
There are just the two of us in the business, and that's the way we like it.
Darren goes to the market five days a week to do the buying in the morning, we collate all the orders, pack the boxes, then both do the deliveries.
We are small enough to care and still big enough to fulfill any orders that come in. It is important to us that we don't lose our personal touch and line on one communication with our customers.
Who are your customers?
We only do home delivery. Our customers are young couples, families and elderly couples. We even have a few celebrities on our list.
All our customers are special to us; they are our Wild Greens family. We have left the corporate out intentionally, they are just too complicated.
What is your delivery area?
We deliver to most of the Sydney Metropolitan area including north to Palm Beach, south to the Sutherland Shire and west to Parramatta.
Each area has its own delivery day, and our customers know when to order.
Where do you source your produce from?
We buy all our fresh fruit and vegetables from Sydney Market five days a week.
How did you get into the fruit and veg business?
Darren: I have followed in my father's foot steps and have been involved in the market for 36 years.
Although my mum wanted me to do a trade outside of the industry I think it's in the blood and I just gravitated to the industry.
Mel: The industry is a whole new world to me. I left a corporate job to go into business with Darren and I really enjoy what we are doing now.
What is your favourite thing about the market?
I love the vibrancy, their smell and the interaction of the market. I has such an amazing vibe and everyone knows each other.
You know who you like to buy from and who you don't.
What is the most challenging thing about the industry?
There are never enough hours in the day, and of course the weather always makes the availability of produce unpredictable which impacts the cost.
Also, working in Sydney the traffic is always a challenge.
What have been some of the highlights for you in the industry?
We are very fortunate to always receive lovely compliments from our customers. It's so humbling that our customers appreciate the effort that we go to for them - we always go that extra mile.
How did COVID-19 affect the business?
We were run off our feet when everyone went into lockdown, and tripled the business in two weeks.
We knew that there would be a fallout rate afterwards because everyone was so desperate to get out and about.
It went back to our core customer base prior to Covid-19, and now we are seeing some of those extra customers return as they realise the benefits of home delivery - quality, freshness and convenience - produce delivered straight from the wholesaler to your door.
What is the key to a successful business?
Lots of hard work and communication are really the keys to the success of our business. We are always keeping our customers informed and we listen to what they want.
It's the personal service and always delivering more than what is expected.
We also love what we do, so that passion is there.
What does the future hold for the fruit & vegetable industry?
Well, everyone has to eat, so we just have to offer what people want and educate them about the benefits of fresh fruit and vegetables.
