Ryan Russell, owner, Freshway Produce, Brisbane Market, Rocklea, Qld.
Tell me about Freshway Produce
I started Freshway Produce in April 2011 having previously worked for others in the market. It is a secondary wholesaler providing fresh produce to mainly regional areas.
What do you specialise in?
We supply a full range of fresh produce for our customers, across all categories. It's all about understanding our customers and catering to their needs.
What sets your business apart from other wholesalers?
I believe that we have very good systems in place and it really comes down to service which sets you apart from your opposition.
Where do you source your produce from?
Generally we source most our produce through the Brisbane Markets. It's really a game of building good relationships and knowing exactly what your customers want.
We need to buy to their needs and providing specials when we find them.
As a general rule our customers are competing with the big chain stores so we need to help them maintain a competitive edge and point of difference, whether it's quality, a better price or the availability of specialty produce that their competitors don't stock.
Who are your customers?
We provide fresh produce to out-of-town customers who basically can't get to Brisbane Markets themselves, so we buy for them.
Our customers are predominantly north of Brisbane. In fact, I have a lot of customers in Cairns and Townsville.
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I find that once you acquire a few customers in a specific area, word of mouth has a tendency to grow that customer base.
We find that most of our customers try to source local produce where they can, and we fill in the gaps for them.
How did you get into the fruit and veg business?
I am a second generation fruiterer, having followed both my uncle and my father into the markets.
I have been coming to the markets since I was about six years old on school holidays and so forth.
I actually wanted to be a footballer when I first left school, so I worked around the markets to earn some money.
When the football didn't work out I got a real job and worked for a guy for about 11 years buying and selling before I used this experience to go out on my own with Freshway Produce.
What do you enjoy about the market?
I love the atmosphere of the market; the people, the banter and laughter, and building lasting relationships and friends.
Don't get me wrong, it's hard work keeping customers happy and often stressful because you are working with a perishable product but overall it's a great place to work.
What's changed about the market over the years?
The introduction of cool rooms have changed the industry a lot.
When I was younger everything used to come into the market and be sold on the day, which put pressure on prices whereas now produce can be held over to sell at a later date thereby initiating greater control on market prices.
There is no longer the pressure to sell on the day which takes away the urgency and gives the seller great control of pricing.
Of course another downside to this is that the produce can sit too long in the cool room jeopardising its freshness and shelf-life.
How has COVID-19, and now the Brisbane foods, affected the business?
There are so many challenges affecting us right now. With COVID our sales remained fairly consistent, although staff are still hard to find.
However, more recently, due to the extreme weather and floods we are having problems sourcing local produce, which means that we have to go further afield to get what we need.
This is a problem in itself because the cost of fuel has risen, which in turn, has increased the cost of freight which is then passed along the line to our customers and ultimately to the consumer.
We rely on freight companies to move our produce rather than run our own trucks, however, due to the increased cost of fuel we are even having problems freighting produce from the southern markets because trucks won't take on a consignment unless they have a full load for the return trip.
On a more positive note for our business, we are one of the lucky 10 per cent of traders at the Brisbane Markets not affected by flooding.
Some businesses have lost all infrastructure and machinery in the floods, and are relying on generators for electricity.
For some it could be more than a month before electricity is restored. It is heartbreaking.
What is the secret to a successful business?
It's essential to have the commitment, drive and passion for your business to be successful.
It's also important to recognise that you can't be good at everything and sometimes it makes more sense to employ the expertise of others.
What does the future hold for the fruit and vegetable industry?
I still think the future is bright for the industry, despite the challenges that we regularly face.
It's just up to us business owners to reinvent, strive and find new and interesting ways to do business to keep the industry buoyant.
At the end of the day we all have to eat.
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