Coles fresh fruit and veg
We believe Aussie farmers grow some of the best fruit and veg in the world.
Aussie first farming
Why Australian farms first?
As an Australian company, we love supporting other Australian businesses. To do this, we pride ourselves on having an Australian First Sourcing Policy, which means we source fruit and veg from Aussie Farms First.
In fact, 96% of our fresh produce is Australian sourced*. For the small percentage of fruit and veg that does have to be imported, it's due to the following reasons:
- The product isn't grown in Australia (e.g. drinking coconuts);
- The product is not in season and there is customer demand (e.g. cherries), and/or when;
- Supply is limited during parts of the year (e.g. blueberries)
We do all this because we think we’re lucky enough to produce some of the best food in the world! And it’s good to know whenever you visit your local Coles, you’re supporting local growers from around the country.
Download our Australian seasonal fruit chart and Australian seasonal vegetable chart.
*Percentage based on total purchases from 25/6/18-30/6/19 and is subject to seasonal change.
Winning together and driving innovation
Des and Paula Chapman have been farming in Gumlu, Queensland for over 35 years. Their farm, Rocky Ponds Produce, has been a direct supplier to Coles for more than 15 years, supplying quality produce including capsicums, pumpkins, honeydew melons, rockmelons and more.
As you can imagine, it’s a big operation. And thanks to Coles, in July 2016 the fruit and vegetable farm received a $400,000 grant from the Coles Nurture Fund to install a state-of-the-art nursery, enhancing productivity by up to 20%.
For Rocky Ponds Produce this nursery includes energy efficient motors and fully computerised irrigation and fertigation systems. As part of this, electronic probes in the soil monitor soil health and the team can control specifications like water and fertiliser allowing better control of fruit size and sweetness. "New technology is something we’re really passionate about because it’s beneficial for the whole industry", says Des, "this is the future of farming".
Good fruit and veg starts with good relationships
Fresh Select is one of our major suppliers of quality Aussie produce, ranging from iceberg lettuce to cauliflower. With farms across four growing regions in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland, Fresh Select ensures premium quality products are grown as local as possible.
A supplier with strong grower relationships and a commitment to bringing exciting innovation to Coles, Fresh Select in conjunction with the Samwell family located in the Adelaide Hills, helped Coles launch Kalettes in 2017. A hybrid between kale and brussels sprouts, look out for this product in store during the winter months.
100% Aussie Strawberries
Tony Scardamaglia’s father Fred started farming on 35 hectares in the Yarra Valley more than 50 years ago. For the first couple of years the family orchards grew cherries, apples, peaches and plums, but within a few years the fruit trees had given way to strawberry plants.
Tony grew up helping out on the family farm in Wandin, Vic, and is happy his parents made the decision to stick with strawberries. That same farm has grown to more than 100 hectares and more than 4 million strawberry plants. Every single strawberry is still picked and packed by hand before being delivered fresh to Coles stores across Australia.
Western Australian Berries
Anthony Yewers established Berry Sweet with his wife Lee-Anne almost 30 years ago. From its humble beginnings as a single strawberry farm in Bullsbrook, north of Perth, the family business now manages 100 hectares of Western Australian farmland.
Berry Sweet supplies Coles stores in WA with hand-harvested berries including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. To keep up with increasing customer demand, Coles provided the business with financial support so they could invest in tunnels that protect the berries from rain, excess heat and UV sunlight. Thanks to Berry Sweet’s hard work and innovation, it's been able to increase production and deliver higher-quality fruit.
Driving innovation together
A fourth-generation family business, Ceravolo Orchards has been supplying Coles for 50 years. The company now manages seven orchards over 300 hectares of farmland in the Adelaide Hills and is one of the largest cherry growers in South Australia.
With financial support from the Coles Nurture Fund, Ceravolo Orchards has been able to invest in an innovative new roofing system to protect 2.8 hectares of cherry crops. “When it rains the crops are protected, when the weather is fine the roof opens up so the cherry trees are exposed to natural sunlight,” Tony Ceravolo says.
