Premier Fresh Australia

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Premier Fresh Australia
Company typePrivate
IndustryAgribusiness
Founded1972
HeadquartersMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Area served
Global
Key people
Products
Websitepremierfresh.com.au

The Premier Fresh Australia is an Australia-based fresh fruits and vegetables supply chain company.[1][2] Its business is regarded as the second biggest in Australia in fresh fruit and vegetables.[3][4]

In August 2022, the company was renamed as 'Premier Fresh Australia', changing from its merger name 'LaManna Premier Group'.[5][6]

Operations

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Premier Fresh grows & markets produce within Australia, and also export worldwide, with divisions including:

  • Premier Produce: apricots, bananas, capsicums, cherries, cucumbers, eggplant, grapefruit, honeydews, lemons, limes, lychee, mango, mandarins, nectarines, oranges, papaya, passionfruit, pawpaw pumpkins, peaches, plums, rockmelons, squash, tangelo, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini[7][8][9][10][11]
  • Australian Banana Company: Responsible for banana farming and logistics nationwide[12][13]
  • Darwin Fruit Farms: Responsible for banana farming and logistics nationwide[14][15]
  • Innisfail Banana Farming Company: Responsible for banana farming and logistics nationwide[16][17]
  • Lancaster Farms: Responsible for tomato, persimmon and pumpkin farming and logistics nationwide[18]
  • Premier Farms International: Exports & markets multiple varieties of avocadoes, grapes, grapefruit, lemons, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pears[19]

History

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Name Period
Viva La Fruit 1972–1998
Premier Fruits Group 1998–2016
LaManna Premier Group 2016–2022
Premier Fresh Australia 2022–Present
 
Present Group CEO Anthony Di Pietro in 2007 at a farm in Bundaberg, Queensland.

Founded in 1972 as 'Viva La Fruit', Premier Fresh Australia began as a wholesaling business in the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit & Vegetable Market at it's previous West Melbourne site. In 1998 the business merged with 'Premier Fruits' to become 'Premier Fruits Group', the name it would remain as until mid-2016. Within this eighteen year period, the company had established both distribution centers and wholesale marketing operations in Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, along with tomato farming operations in Lancaster and Virginia.[20][21][22]

In June 2016, it was announced that Premier Fruits Group had agreed to a merger with LaManna Group, a subsidiary of New Zealand based Market Gardeners Marketing,[23] to form 'LaManna Premier Group'. The merged entity was later reported by the Australian Financial Review to become that 'second largest fresh fruit and vegetable supplier' in Australia, behind the formerly ASX listed Costa Group.[24] Whilst LaManna Group entity consisted of distribution centers and wholesale marketing operations in Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, as did the Premier Fruits Group entity, it also crucially had established banana farming operations in Darwin, Northern Territory, and Innisfail, Queensland, being Australian Banana Company, Darwin Fruit Farms and Innisfail Banana Farming Company respectively. In August 2022, the entity was rebranded as 'Premier Fresh Australia'.[25]

In June 2024, the original owners of the Premier Fruits Group entity acquired the share of the business owned by New Zealand based Market Gardeners Marketing, to assume full ownership and control of Premier Fresh Australia, and becoming 100 per cent Australian-owned.[26][27][28][29] The following month in July, the revamped board appointed PFD Food Services CEO Kerry Smith[30] as a director and independent chair of the entity.[31][32]

Fantasy Kits

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The Bacalas
Football Club
Original Kit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gino
Football Club
Original Kit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gino
Football Club
Final Kit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Part Time
Football Club
Original Kit

East Carlton Soccer Club

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East Carlton
Full nameEast Carlton Soccer Club
Founded1969; 55 years ago (1969)
Dissolved1983; 41 years ago (1983)
LeagueFootball Victoria State Leagues
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

East Carlton Soccer Club was an Australian association football (soccer) club based in the inner-northern Melbourne suburb of Carlton. The club was founded in 1969 by the local Italian community and competed in the modern day Victorian state league system.[33]Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page without content in them (see the help page).Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page without content in them (see the help page).

History

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Venue Suburb Period
Princes Park Carlton North 1969, 1980–1981, 1983
Royal Park Parkville 2022–present
Unknown Unknown 1979 & 1982

1969 [34] 1970 [35] 1971 [36] 1972 [37] 1973 [38] 1974 [39] 1975 [40] 1976 [41] 1977 [42] 1978 [43] 1980 [44] 1981 [45] 1983 [46]

Red shirt, white shorts, red socks, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978 (away)

Blue shirt, white shorts, blue socks, 1977, 1980, 1981

Navy Blue shirt, navy blue shorts, navy blue socks, 1978

Green shirt, white shorts, green socks, 1980 (away)

Green shirt, white shorts, white socks, 1981 (away), 1983 (away)

Unknown for 1979 kit and home ground Unknown for 1982 kit and home ground

Princes Park 1969, 1980, 1981, 1983 Royal Park 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978

Kit Evolution

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Kit evolution

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  • Home
 
 
 
 
 
1969–1976
 
 
 
 
 
1977, 1980–1981, 1983
 
 
 
 
 
1978
 
 
 
 
 
 
1979 & 1982
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2016–2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018–2020
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2021–2022
 
 
 
 
 
 
2022–2023
  • Away
 
 
 
 
 
1978
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2011–2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015–2016
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2016–2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018–2020
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2021–2022
 
 
 
 
 
 
2022–2023

Honours

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Runner's Up (1): 1971
  • District League Division Four (state eleventh division)
Runner's Up (1): 1977
  1. ^ Wilmott, Ben. "Food Grower Expands its Reach". Australian Financial Review. Fairfax. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  2. ^ "Italianicious". Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Premier Fruits Group ripe for expansion". The Australian. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  4. ^ "A-League grand final: Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory chairmen | Herald Sun". Archived from the original on 8 May 2018.
  5. ^ "It's a new era". 8 August 2022.
  6. ^ "LaManna Premier Group rebrands".
  7. ^ https://premierfresh.com.au/our-produce/bananas/
  8. ^ https://premierfresh.com.au/our-produce/pumpkins-melons/
  9. ^ https://premierfresh.com.au/our-produce/soft-veg/
  10. ^ https://premierfresh.com.au/our-produce/citrus/
  11. ^ https://premierfresh.com.au/our-produce/tropical/
  12. ^ https://www.fruitnet.com/produce-plus/lpg-expands-banana-operations/187100.article
  13. ^ https://premierfresh.com.au/farming/abc/
  14. ^ https://www.fruitnet.com/produce-plus/lpg-expands-banana-operations/187100.article
  15. ^ https://premierfresh.com.au/farming/dff/
  16. ^ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10541285/Australian-farmer-reveals-demand-bananas-gone-Covid.html
  17. ^ https://premierfresh.com.au/farming/ibfc/
  18. ^ https://premierfresh.com.au/farming/lancasterfarms/
  19. ^ https://premierfarmsinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/PFI-Harvest-Calendar-Digital-Version.pdf
  20. ^ https://www.fruitnet.com/produce-plus/premier-fruits-buys-two-sa-companies/163333.article
  21. ^ https://www.afr.com/street-talk/meet-the-new-no2-player-in-fruit-and-vegetables-20160624-gpqv0k
  22. ^ https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=WTWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weeklytimesnow.com.au%2Fagribusiness%2Fagjournal%2Fanthony-di-pietro-inside-produce-powerhouse-lamanna-premier-group%2Fnews-story%2F687321359eeb7c6fc14e64376fe8a532&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium
  23. ^ https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/agribusiness/merger-to-create-australias-leading-fruit-and-vegetable-supplier/news-story/4fd44148638eeedf2225b4e00dbb4c44
  24. ^ https://www.afr.com/street-talk/meet-the-new-no2-player-in-fruit-and-vegetables-20160624-gpqv0k
  25. ^ https://www.fruitnet.com/produce-plus/lamanna-premier-group-rebrands/246901.article
  26. ^ https://www.fruitnet.com/produce-plus/lamanna-premier-group-rebrands/246901.article
  27. ^ https://www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au/news/premier-fresh-australia-acquired-by-local-directors
  28. ^ https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/markets/market-gardeners-limited-sells-premier-fresh-stake/
  29. ^ https://www.freshplaza.com/north-america/article/9639977/mg-group-announces-sale-of-premier-fresh-australia-to-long-standing-business-partners/
  30. ^ https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/au/en/media/latest-news/2020/strategic-investment-in-pfd-foodservices-announcement.html
  31. ^ https://www.fruitnet.com/produce-plus/premier-fresh-australia-appoints-kerry-smith-as-independent-chair/261389.article
  32. ^ https://www.fresh-market.info/news/found-in-internet/1996554835/premier-fresh-australia-has-appointed-kerry-smith-as-an-independent-chair-821821257
  33. ^ http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Clubs/VIC/Vic_Inactive_E.html#EastCarlton
  34. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-GeBc7j6xA6aHBuZ2FsWDE2SUE/view?resourcekey=0-BaL2SioTDnB6_9eG39yl7A (page 23)
  35. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjATk9ezHsaQjNia1ZxYllUWkk/view?resourcekey=0-GOvW1qrh-_piStfcPOhaZQ (page 47)
  36. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yezp2wutOs-KX3aANk8Af8wl96wopCXU/view (page 28)
  37. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjATk9ezHsaUC01ODVkc1lNXzQ/view?resourcekey=0-QPZCtDldUC38YrUQHY3l4Q (page 28)
  38. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/19zs7QXMLDQoTTIKySsc2CuHOJZw6gJk2/view (page 18)
  39. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjATk9ezHsad2NPUVVaRUlieEE/view?resourcekey=0-FutaI9xOaW_sAULykBwxag (page 19)
  40. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjATk9ezHsaRFJueDhwUG92Z2s/view?resourcekey=0-duWylwdPN9G81x1Ngo634A (page 21)
  41. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjATk9ezHsad0NlV2E3bTk0NFE/view?resourcekey=0-qai9CG4PXxrERjfjaWFZTg (page 19)
  42. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-GeBc7j6xA6Y3BTODVsMHE0bFU/view?resourcekey=0-CeS3pOcQwt7LVO_dNT9KxQ (page 21)
  43. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-GeBc7j6xA6ZXI2dnl1VzFoVDQ/view?resourcekey=0-DpWA2k_zeXmQfmvYIWSC5Q (page 22)
  44. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjATk9ezHsaNGNIWEZteVZRbDA/view?resourcekey=0-NPoo2eWcB0ymhKWurwAQdw (page 20)
  45. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjATk9ezHsaaEVsSG4wemtxcVU/view?resourcekey=0-1qbEC3sB54ctxIofPaoqiw (page 19)
  46. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjATk9ezHsaWmRXbnJmcXhuYU0/view?resourcekey=0-3TlKNvRiPm9xkS_oRRs-ZA (page 14)