Two table grape businesses have merged in order to take a larger share of the market and branch into Asia.
The table grape division of Perfection Fresh Australia will merge with FruitMaster and now trade as FruitMaster Australia.
FruitMaster Australia already has a large portfolio of exclusive grape varieties and proprietary genetics, as well as a network of third party growers.
It also has three farms in Kenley, Robinvale, Paringi in south-west NSW, and a packing and distribution centre at Robinvale.
Perfection Fresh Australia CEO and FruitMaster Australia director Michael Simonetta said the company expected to market two and a half million boxes of grapes this year, split between its third party growers and its own production.
“From a Perfection Fresh perspective, table grapes were the smallest of our categories,” he told Food & Drink Business.
“We wanted to have more significant market share in this segment, and this merger makes us significant.
“The increase in production volumes opens the business to a broader range of customers domestically and internationally, and will enable us to provide greater opportunities to our global customers.”
Simonetta said the most important factor in fresh produce was having a strong portfolio of premium quality products.
“The proprietary varieties we have and the the extensive network of third party, strategically aligned growers helps us to be much more competitive in the market.”
The wellness revolution
Simonetta said he believed grapes were “front and centre” of the wellness revolution, and new varieties would make the market even stronger.
In 2016, consumers can expect to see a late season white seedless grape called Autumn Crisp which follows the Thomson Seedless.
And following the Midnight Beauty grape will be a black seedless variety called Adora.
“Next year we'll be seeing a lot more, including the first commercial quantity of a mid- to late-season white variety called Sweeties,” he said.
“Right now there are 15 to 20 varieties that are just out of quarantine which we will trial and see how they perform – but for many of the grapes, the decision to commercialise is still three to four years away.”
FruitMaster Australia director and CEO Joe Lanteri said he looked forward to accessing Perfection Fresh's breeding program and proprietary genetics.
A productive new line
FruitMaster is investing heavily in product innovation, with a new production line being installed at its Robinvale facility.
This will enable the company to pack snacking cups of individual grapes as well as offer a dedicated line that meets protocol for some export customers.
“We use a new de-stemming process which ensures the grapes are kept intact at the point of sale,” Simonetta said.
“It provides accuracy, ensuring they are not under- or overweight.”
The team worked with a Melbourne-based packaging consultant to build the de-stemming plant, which enabled them to launch the Grape N' Go ready-to-eat brand.
“For table grapes this is very new,” Simonetta said.
“We've had fruit salad packaging like this for some time, but not individual serves of table grapes.
“People are constantly looking for healthy snacks that aren't processed, and with this product, which is washed and ready-to-eat, what you see is what you get.”
Ready for export
FruitMaster was already Australia’s largest exporter of table grapes and Simonetta said the merged business remained committed to increasing export volumes.
“We're exploring opportunities through all of Asia, Middle East, and other markets,” he said.
“The current grape protocol for China is workable but we need continued government support in establishing new export markets and to truly capitalise on the free trade agreements.
“Australian produce is very much in vogue in Asia and there is a big demand for table grapes.
“But one of our biggest issues is that we need the government to stop telling us we're 'the new food bowl of China' because we can only legitimately sell a total of six products to China. And two of these have to originate from Tasmania.”
Not only that, said Simonetta, produce such as mangoes needed to go through a vapour hear treatment process which affected the product.
“It's difficult to sell into that market legitimately,” he said.
“The government needs to make our protocols workable.
“What good are fair trade agreements if we don't have market access?”
Brett Pickering will be heading up exports and will be driving awareness of the new grape varieties.
The Perfection Fresh Australia’s table grape team will all join FruitMaster Australia and Simonetta will remain the main contact for licensors.
There will be no redundancies as part of the merger.
