Spring Gully Food’s manuka plantation project takes root
A THOUSAND manuka trees, planted last month in the state’s mid-North, represent a new growth opportunity for SA honey, relish and pickles maker Spring Gully Foods.
A THOUSAND manuka trees, planted last month in the state’s mid-North, represent a new growth opportunity for SA honey, relish and pickles maker Spring Gully Foods.
Planting the trees on 10 hectares of land in the Wirrabara Forest Reserve had turned into a “Webb family affair”, managing director Kevin Webb told The Advertiser.
“It’s a trial project for plantation-style manuka to establish if it will grow here. It’s a high activity product, so besides the honey, there is potential for other medicinal products,” he said.
“It’ll be three years to full production.
“For the first time, we’ll have a chance to bring real control into our supply chain for honey and it will be a good thing for the regions,” he said.
“With global demand for the product at a high, we are looking forward to seeing the results of the trial,” said Mr Webb.
Honey was a major part of the Spring Gully Food business for a long time before an Australia-wide shortage hit supply.
SA beekeepers had been key supporters of Spring Gully Foods when it entered voluntary administration on April 11, 2013, with debts of $4.9 million.
Driven by unprecedented strong customer support and demand for its products, the company repaid its creditors 102 cents in the dollar in December last year.
Mr Webb said the manuka plantation would open up more opportunities for local beekeepers.
Spring Gully received a $150,000 grant for the three-year project, which is a joint partnership with Primary Industries and Regions SA through its research division South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and ForestrySA.
Earlier this week, Spring Gully also revealed it was sticking to its core product range of relishes and pickles to make itself strong enough to survive “further knocks”.
“We have a two-year strategy for the return of Spring Gully’s strength and the focus is on maintaining steady revenues and growth,” he said.
The business, which employs 45 staff, including casuals, produces about eight million jars of relishes, pickles, jams and honey at its Dry Creek facility.
Besides retailing through independent and major supermarkets, Spring Gully is also working hard to grow in the food services space interstate in a bid to boost supply to caterers and restaurants.