SPC committed to delivering better food for the future to Australia’s foodservice professionals
Australians have known and trusted the SPC brand for more than 100 years. From its cooperative origins in the commercial fruit growing region of Shepparton and its proud history as Australia’s largest producer of canned deciduous fruits, to today’s extensive product offering of fruits, vegetables and value added products, SPC has built a solid reputation for quality, consistency and value.
Recently the business has introduced a new corporate logo and new slogan ‘Better Food for the Future’, exemplifying its ongoing brand evolution and reinforcing its commitment to Australia’s foodservice market. To find out more we spoke to SPC’s Head of Foodservice and Ingredients Abbey Jones.
“We’ve always been justly proud of our heritage – we’ve been sourcing quality fruit from Victoria’s Goulburn Valley since 1918 and that is certainly set to continue,” Abbey tells us.
“Better food for the future’ is really about underscoring our dedication to providing innovative food solutions that meet the demanding requirements of the foodservice market, evolving our brand and business to better meet the needs of the 21st century.”
Abbey emphasises that sustainability is a key focus for the future of the business – “not just in terms of sustainable agriculture, but more broadly in that we want to ensure sustainability commercially and operationally, not only for our loyal customer base but of course our workforce. Our manufacturing heartland has always been in the Goulburn Valley which is the food bowl of Victoria, and we’re very much committed to keeping jobs in place there.
“We know that the past 12 months have refocused chefs and foodservice professionals’ attention on Australian made and sourcing local produce, and the fact is we’re the only Australian deciduous fruit processor left in the country. So if you want Australian packaged and processed fruit, we’re the only ones who can do it for you. About 90 per cent of the produce we sell today is locally grown.”
While SPC is best known for its tinned fruit range, in recent years the business has been moving to innovative value added products, such as its SPC ProVital in easy-open snacking cups – an award-winning design developed with input from Arthritis Australia. These have proven very popular in the health and aged care market.
“We’re very much focused not only on quality and consistency but how the food is delivered – for example, the market has moved beyond wanting everything in 3kg bulk tins and we are evolving accordingly. While that traditional packaging works for some operators, for others it’s challenging to have to open a 3kg tins during a busy service period.
“From a foodservice perspective we need to make sure that our packaging meets end-users’ needs for ease of use, resealability, ease of storage and so on. We are working on an improved bag in box solution and we’re also trialling a number of different packaging solutions with foodservice operators because they’re the ones who will make the final purchase decisions.”
SPC has also expanded its product offering through acquisition of several complementary businesses over the last few years. One is Pomlife, which processes and markets pomegranates locally grown in the Goulburn Valley – “we have a fresh product, a frozen one and a juice that we sell across both retail and foodservice. Pomegranates are certainly on-trend and growing in popular across the market.”
Another recent acquisition is Helping Humans, which produces a kombucha-based cold beverage offering functional health benefits and a range of juices that are being sold across various foodservice market segments including the route trade. And late last year SPC acquired a frozen meal company called Kuisine which provides food to consumers who aren’t in a position to cook nutritious meals for themselves.
SPC is also well known for its fruit prep range which are popular as fillings for the yoghurt and bakery market and of course its snack cup and fruit puree products.
The new logo and ‘Better Food for the Future’ slogan will be launched into foodservice over the coming months, with SPC set to showcase its range at major industry trade events Foodservice Australia and Fine Food. “We’re really looking forward to getting out among our customer base again,” Abbey affirms, “especially given that the opportunities have been few and far between over the past 12 months. We want to keep working a lot closer with customers to understood what their needs are and make sure we’re developing innovative solutions that meet them.”
For more information on the SPC foodservice product solutions range visit https://spc.com.au/food-service/
