RETAIL: FROM PADDOCK TO MARKET

From paddock to market

Now, more than ever, our Farmers need resilient supply chains that are predictive, intelligent, and agile. Focusing on local has become increasingly important over the past 18 months and our Members need the visibility to quickly and accurately make decisive and informed decisions that enable their business to sense, predict, and respond to global supply chain dynamics.

Words: Anita Donnelly – General Manager Promotions and Communications

Online grocers and food retailers are one of the fastest growing segments in today’s eCommerce world. As consumers begin to feel more comfortable ordering food and groceries online, retailers must put more focus on having a digital presence, especially in moments of crisis – like a pandemic.

One such business is the South Melbourne Market that moved to offering click and collect and home deliveries a year ago. Since 1867, the South Melbourne Market has been a treasured inner-city landmark and a favourite amongst locals and visitors. It is the quintessential village market, a place where people come not only to purchase fresh food, but to meet, eat, drink, shop, discover, share and connect.

A couple of our VFF Members are proudly selling their produce at this Market and also in their online marketplace to reach a million Melbournians who live within 30 kms of the icon. Meredith Dairy’s Julie Cameron says “Markets are fantastic locations to try out new products, source feedback and offer tastings that convert new customers and re-engage purchasers back.

Gippsland Blue by Tarago River Cheese

Cows from Tarago River Cheese.

The South Melbourne Market stallholders become close contacts with our salespeople and provide valuable marketing information and are advocates for Meredith Dairy”. Tarago River Cheese have a free-range farm in Neerim South and its 500 cows offer clean fresh milk – 99% of the cheese ingredients.

Their staff pay careful attention to detail as they embrace traditional cheesemaking practices. The Emerald Deli at the South Melbourne Market also stock their delicious Gippsland Brie, blues and Jensen’s Red and love supporting Victorian farmers like Laurie Jensen and David Johnson.

“We love working with a number of stall holders at the South Melbourne Market including Theo’s Deli due to their passion for artisanal products and producers. It is always great to see our range of cheeses alongside so many other producers with the same ethos as us. What makes Tarago’s products so special is that we have complete control over the whole process. We manage the land the cows graze on, milk the cows and make and mature the cheeses on the farm.

“We manage the land the cows graze on, milk the cows, as well as make and mature our cheeses on farm,” says Laurie Jensen from Tarago River Cheese.

All the cheesemaking is done by hand and decisions are made by touch, feel, small and taste of the curds at various stages in the process. Their favourite cheese platter consists of Amiel by Stone and Crow, our Triple Cream, Banksia by Long Paddock Cheese and our Gippsland Blue.

Maria from the Emerald Deli is so proud of the standard of produce that Victorians are making and she often selects her stock based on what she personally loves. “International imports are very hard to access right now due to freight challenges and so it’s a fantastic time to eat local. It is most certainly the time to appreciate how fortunate we are in Australia and thoroughly enjoy what’s made here at home.”

Maria from the Emerald Deli with a wedge of Swiss Cheese at South Melbourne Market.

Dandenong Market brings together 156 nationalities under one roof and one shop, in the 200 plus mix, belongs to our own VFF Member Peninsula Fresh Organics. Tash leads the team who farm on 40 acres of land and grow approximately 40 different lines of vegetables, including heirloom varieties. Some of their most popular crops include the heirloom carrots, radish, Asian greens, leeks, spinach, lettuce varieties, rainbow chard and broccoli.

South Melbourne Market is an essential element of the community, bringing consumers, farmers and small businesses together.

They also farm 100 acres at Barham on the Murray River which they started farming in April 2013 - this is to help supplement the Baxter farm with various lines of produce due to seasonality. Many of their lines are grown year-round and are Certified by Australian Certified Organic (ACO).

In addition to their Dandenong Market shop, Peninsula Fresh has an independent store which recently relocated from the farm into Baxter township (94 Baxter Tooradin Rd, Baxter) where they supplement their own organic produce; they also carry certified organic meat from Cherry Tree Organics, Cleavers Meats, milk and cream from Schulz Organic Dairy, yoghurt from CSM Organics, eggs and other grocery items.

Local pancetta; parmesan and fresh egg pasta.

Tash enjoys working with the Dandenong Market team because it gives her the opportunity to bring their unique and bespoke products to the local Dandenong community.

Tash opened their shop at the start of the first Covid lockdown, so it’s been a really challenging time to enter a bricks and mortar retail environment. Peninsula Fresh Organics (branded as Peninsula Organic Farmgate) are a hidden gem in the deli section of Dandenong Market so next time you’re visiting, head in and collect the ingredients for Tash’s favourite Greek salad which of course needs to include Peninsula Fresh Organics’ iceberg lettuce which is the “best going around”.

VFF Member Tash, owner of Peninsula Fresh Organics.

Their prices are incredibly competitive as Tash and her team grow the produce, transport it to Dandenong in their van and run the shop themselves so they control each element of their crops and shoppers can genuinely meet the maker.

Dandenong Market is essential to the livelihood of millions of customers, hundreds of small business traders and thousands of farmers. We are very lucky to host four unique and much-loved organic traders who stock and sell their own farmed produce. Shopping with them keeps money in the local economy, preserves farmland, promotes a healthy lifestyle and supports small business.”

Casaccio Egg Farm, a VFF Member enjoying the success of a stall called The Eggporium, at the Queen Victoria Market was established in 1966 and is a third-generation family business. Gregorio Casaccio, an Italian migrant, and his wife Emanuela Casaccio started the business with their three sons; Sam, Paul and John and they have three familyoperated farms located in Werribee, Lara and Terang. They believe in giving their customers the option to choose from a wide variety of grain fed and freerange eggs and have invested heavily in state-of-theart Colony Cage housing, to ensure the wellbeing of their prized hens is at the highest level at all times.

Casaccio eggs

Lina of Casaccio loves working with the Queen Victoria Market and “providing the opportunity for Melbournians to buy fresh, quality, Melbourne made produce locally”. She loves being able to share her farm’s eggs with shoppers and having the opportunity to sell them so close to the family’s farms. Originating in Sicily, Lina and her family relish being able to access amazing Italian produce crafted by fellow Victorians and her favourite recipes are pasta carbonara using pancetta and parmesan she adds to her basket at the QVM, and also fresh veggies added to her eggs for a delicious frittata.

MEET UP IN MELBOURNE

With the hyper-local focus being so prevalent thanks to the repercussions of COVID-19, one potential solution for selling more of your products is to reach new and existing audiences in metro Melbourne. These hugely patronised locations might help your bottom line.

To see what might be possible, reach out to the teams at these markets:

• Dandenong Market: dandenongmarket.com.au/applications/

• South Melbourne Market: southmelbournemarket.com.au/apply/market-stalls

• Queen Victoria Market: Which has launched 'Wholesale Tuesday' – for striking up sales-based conversations, and the exchange of expert advice between farmers, producers and market traders.

www.qvm.com.au/wholesale-tuesday