It’s a case of ‘build it and they will come’ following recent publicity that Bruce Hill and his wife Helen have brought to the Bolivian native fruit, the Achacha. Since the sweet, yet incredibly low sugar, fruit made an appearance on Masterchef, filmed back when it was in season, and local and state news coverage ramped up, including a story in the NewsCorp press, online enquiries have increased dramatically, according to Mr Hill. “My son who looks at the numbers of hits on our website and social media tells me the results have been quite incredible,” he says.
The only issue is the fact that the publicity is happening outside the harvest season, which runs for up to 15 weeks during the Australian summer time. This year’s harvest was also smaller, due to the fact there was no rain in February in the part of Queensland where the Achacha plantation is, approximately 45km south of Townsville.
The Hills are working hard at promoting value added products, which can be stored, including a bottled juice and a sorbet that is made using a thremomix, which restauranteurs have taken to making for diners. There is also a lot of support, including financial support, from family and friends, and help from the Hills' children to bring Achacha to the world, according to Mrs Hill.
They told Fresh Plaza they have every confidence that those who are interested won’t forget to buy, and will stay up to date via facebook when the harvest begins again. “We don’t have any fruit left at the moment, but we’re doing good things, and the honey which we also produce is doing incredible things at the moment” says Mr Hill. “We’re definitely more well known in Queensland, but we do everything we can to grow the presence of the Achacha fruit.”
The idea that there could be a nutritious fruit that is as well loved as mango, produced in Australia, is what fuels the hard work that the Hills undertake bringing the fruit to the attention of chefs, farmers markets, and now the general public.
For more information:
Bruce Hill
Achacha
Phone: +61419400407
E-mail: bhill@achacha.com.au
Website: www.achacha.com.au