Farm Foods expanding
Innovative producer eyes export opportunities
GEELONG company Farm Foods is advancing plans to ramp up its export operations to capitalise on the booming global appetite for organic meat and plant-based alternatives.
The family-owned food manufacturer is seeking planning approval from the Geelong council to expand at the rear of its Breakwater site as it prepares to invest in export market development and new equipment in a project that will create 10 to 14 jobs.
Chief executive Greg Hughes said that as demand for plant-based meat alternatives grew, the company wanted to be able to separate that process into a dedicated space and add processes such as flash frying.
Mr Hughes said its meat business was also growing and the plan was to sell an extra 550,000 meat trays this financial year, so more space was needed.
The move to exploit the growing market for plantbased alternatives is an example of the innovation that is at the heart of the business model.
“Are we innovating? You bet we are, because that’s the lifeblood of our business,” Mr Hughes said.
Farm Foods, which has a staff of more than 70 that grows to about 85 over summer, has become one of the leading value-adding meat plants servicing supermarkets across the country.
It supplies Coles, Woolworths, Metcash, IGA, Ritchies and Aldi under its own brands and as retailerowned private labels. Those retailers in turn employ an army of Australian workers. It is an example of how the supply chain process helps businesses create 86 per cent of all jobs in Australia.
The company’s NextGen plant-based burger has been reformulated and is sold through Woolworths as the NextGen2. The Simply Better Foods range — of plant-based and “flexitarian” meat- and vegetable-based protein — was launched last month through IGA supermarkets.
The business has about 40 suppliers, ranging from film to packaging.
“We’re one of the biggest buyers of local parsley here in Geelong,” Mr Hughes said. “We spend about $140,000 a year just buying parsley.”
The company looks to use local suppliers where it can.
This contributes to trade between businesses of various sizes that is worth about $500 billion to the national economy each year.
Farm Foods is this week hosting a visit from Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott as part of the Strong Australia Network series, which highlights the impact of businesses in regional Australia and their importance to the local and national economy.