Major Australian grower-packer-marketer M Group – formerly known as Moraitis– and US-based global export force The Fresh Connection have announced the launch of The Fresh Connection South Pacific.
The 50:50 joint venture has begun trading with a focus on fresh fruit and vegetable exports from, and imports to, Australia and New Zealand.
Fronting the new partnership are two general managers– Damian Glengarry, based in Sydney, Australia, and Cindy Dixon, stationed in Hastings, New Zealand.
Glengarry, who joins from Perfection Fresh, is a New Zealander, and he has a long history in the business having previously worked for Market Gardeners and LaManna.
Dixon, meanwhile, hails from the US, and she has a long track record with Enza, most recently serving at its Hasting-based operations.“Service, relationships and experience are critical to the success of The Fresh Connection business and will be the foundations of this partnership,” Dixon said in a company statement.
Established in 1994, The Fresh Connection is a leading global exporter of fresh produce from the US and South Africa. It exports to more than 35 countries in Asia, the Middle East, South America and Europe. The company already has offices in South Africa and South America, along with three Californian sites, for managing procurement.
Australasian procurement base
The joint venture establishes a strategic presence in Australia-New Zealand for the Fresh Connection. Up until now, Australasia has been more of a market for the company’s products from the US and other sources, than a procurement base. But the new operation enables the company to expand into sourcing from Australia and New Zealand for its global customer base, Mgroup’s CEO Jeff Jackson told Asiafruit.
“This moves completes The Fresh Connection’s Southern Hemisphere sourcing representation and strategy,” he said. “At the same time, it gives Australian and New Zealand producers the opportunity to tap into The Fresh Connections’ extensive global customer base, particularly in Asia and the Middle East.”
The Fresh Connection’s owner Hank Miller said his company is very excited about the new venture.
“Jeff Jackson and I share similar visions about the business, and we’re really excited to see this come together,” said Miller.
“Rarely do you have the chance to get two established companies come together to leverage their collective strengths to this degree. With Mgroup’s captive supply and relationships in Australia and New Zealand, combined with The Fresh Connection’s global network of customers and history in the market, we feel it will create an incredible opportunity for growers and customers alike.“
Mgroup eyes Asian expansion
Jackson said the move formed part of Mgroup’s long-term focus on expanding into Asia following Hong Kong-listed company Chevalier International’s acquisition of a majority stake in the business last year.
“From the outset with our investment from Chevalier, one of the cornerstones of our strategy has been expansion into Asian markets, and that’s a multi-faceted plan – one facet is the capability to export products from Australia and New Zealand,” explained Jackson.
“We literally spent over a year evaluating the best way to go about it and the conclusion we arrived at was to partner with The Fresh Connection, which is the largest and best fruit and vegetable export company into Asia and the Middle East,” he continued. “Between us we have 20 years mutual respect and we were both searching for a solution.”
Vertically integrated company Mgroup operates a ‘grower-aggregator’ business model, supplying Australia’s domestic retail and wholesale trade and offering value-added services through its know-how and substantial packing infrastructure.
Jackson said the launch of The Fresh Connection South Pacific is part of the Mgroup’s strategic evolution. “An Australia-New Zealand import/export platform is a key component in Mgroup’s plans to develop year-round supply channels for its core products, vendors and customers, both domestically and internationally,” he said.
Independent entity with Mgroup support
While The Fresh Connection South Pacific’s Sydney office is based at Mgroup’s headquarters, Jackson stressed the companies are very much independent entities.
“The Fresh Connection South Pacific is a service provider focused on connecting supply with markets – they’ll be working with both third-party growers and Moraitis’ core production base, which is focused on onions and potatoes.”
He added that The Fresh Connection South Pacific’s management would have access to Mgroup's infrastructure and services such as warehousing and inventory management. “For instance, if Damian purchases product for export, he can draw on Mgroup’s nationwide team of QA staff.”
The Fresh Connection South Pacific will offer a wide range of products including citrus, grapes, cherries, potatoes, mangoes, stonefruit, kiwifruit, berries and exotics.
Global exporter The Fresh Connection’s move into procurement from Australia and New Zealand reflects these exporting countries' increasing importance as supply origins for the fast-growing Asian markets in particular.
“It’s very timely with the free trade agreements and the growing Asian demand for clean and green fresh foods from Australia and New Zealand,” noted Jackson. “It’s time for this to take off in a meaningful way.”
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