AU: Odeum Farms expansion hoping to increase profits by reducing waste

One of Western Australia's leading produce companies, Odeum Farms has launched a new business, hoping to get more sales out of its crop by opening up new clientele.

Its sister company, Allied Farms Australia started this month at Perth’s Canning Vale Markets and is designed to have a stronger focus on the independent wholesalers in WA and around Australia, by creating a new market for produce that previously was not able to be sold.

"Approximately 20-30 per cent our crops will never make it to Odeum Farms' direct customers so this is a massive game changer for us on the war on waste," National Category and Farms Manager Jason Marais said. "Not only will Allied Farms be supplying premium fruit and vegetables to an array of wholesale buyers, but another objective of this business is to have the ability to move composite grades of our crops, for example second grade produce which would usually have become waste or heavily reduced in the past."

Allied Farms Australia core product lines will be gourmet tomatoes, cherry and grape tomatoes, watermelon, sweet potatoes, beans, cucumbers, capsicums, brussel sprouts, snow peas, sugar snaps and strawberries along with some other seasonal produce lines throughout the year. 

"The aim is to broaden our customer base in selling ‘our entire crop’ and not just the premium fruit which the chain stores and export customers want," Mr Marais said. "The idea behind Allied Farms Australia is also to strengthen our current relationships with other farming businesses around Australia, giving them better options."

Mr Marais said Odeum Farms business structure was designed to meet the needs of the major chain stores within Australia; Coles, Woolworths and Aldi over 20 years ago. While he admits knowing exactly what impact this will have to Odeum Farm’s group of companies is still somewhat unknown, he is confident there is a market for all grades of produce.

"There has always been great demand, previously as Odeum Farms we were not geared up to effectively service this sort of clientele, so we are expecting good results," he said. "There are many variables and costs in a new business to consider and this will be reviewed frequently over the coming months. The principle ideas and structures behind opening Allied Farms make perfect sense for Odeum Farms so we do expect this to have a profound effect on the business, providing better outcomes for both Odeum and our partner farms."