Shane Priest, from Priest Bros in Pakenham, Melbourne's southeast, operates on the principle that consistent quality brings consistent customers. Every stage of the operation, from growing to packing and marketing, is designed to deliver apples that match consumer preferences.
Priest, who received the APAL Award for Excellence in Marketing, is recognised at Melbourne Markets for his approach of prioritising eating quality and setting target fruit sizes aligned with customer demand. He applies aggressive thinning to ensure consistency each season. Packout reports provide growers with information on returns by size and grade, enabling decisions on variety management. Direct feedback is also offered after packing to highlight areas for improvement.
The Priest Bros business, run by Shane and his brother Paul, spans 27 hectares and markets fruit through their Epping Wholesale Market stall and agents in Brisbane, Sydney, and Perth. The operation also packs around 16,000 bins annually for other growers in Victoria and South Australia.
Shane said regular market presence is key. "The market keeps us on the ball. We're constantly talking to customers, so we know what quality we need to deliver for premium prices," he said.
Consumer preference varies by variety. "For apples sold as Pink Lady, we focus on a medium-sized piece of fruit for lunch boxes, whereas with Shinano Gold (sold as Yello®) and Fuji, we're aiming at bigger apples for the Asian customers who love larger fruit," Shane said.
He noted that overall apple consumption has not increased, despite more branded varieties. "Publicity and marketing of new apples is important, because we're not seeing more apples consumed, just more brands. Publicity for Jazz™, for example, was really good; the marketing was second to none in Australia. But there have been a lot more brands that have come out since, with next to no marketing, and that makes it a lot harder."
The Priest Bros orchard includes Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Galaval (a high-colour Gala), Cripps Pink (Rosy Glow), and smaller volumes of Shinano Gold. Crop loads are managed to prevent biennial bearing, with fruit size driving thinning decisions. Target sizes vary by variety: Rosy Glow ranges from 65/70 to 90 count, Golden Delicious from 54/60, and Fuji and Shinano Gold between 44 and 54.
Fruit is machine graded for size, colour, and defects before hand-packing. Looking ahead, Priest identified rising costs as the major challenge. "Everything's gone up so much over the last few years, whether it be transport, power, wages, or the cost of leasing a stall at the market. Everything. We're already at our limits," he said.
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