Baby leaf salad producer Hussey and Co hasn't just grown over the years. It has focused on vertical integration, which has brought a suite of benefits.
Above all, managing director Jeremy Haw says it has fundamentally changed how the business manages quality, cost, and risk. "Our business model is a vertically integrated grower–processor model. We grow, we process, and we value add ourselves," he says. "It's a national vertically integrated model, and it's the first of its kind in Australia.
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"When you also grow your own raw material, it gives you an extremely competitive advantage," Haw says.
Processing on the farm allows tighter control over shelf life and specifications. That control has been helped by investments in air-drying tunnels, optical sorting, and X-ray technology. The benefits grow bigger as the business scales up. With recent expansion into Western Australia, Hussey and Co can now supply retailers nationally and move product between regions when conditions require it.
"This model has helped us deal with weather issues because we can bring product in from Western Australia if needed," Haw explains. Scale also matters in a category defined by volume and consistency. "Baby leaf is a volume business. If a retailer needs 20 pallets on the day, we can do that. Smaller growers can't, and if you disappoint buyers, they won't come back." Fixed-price tenders add further stability, making margins easier to manage than in more volatile commodity lines.
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Exports remain part of the company's footprint, though their importance has diminished. Hussey and Co supplies supermarkets in Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, but Haw says the landscape has shifted since Covid. "Before Covid, we had a very strong export business. It's never really come back since," he says.
Increased production within Southeast Asia and growing competition from Chinese, Malaysian, and Indonesian suppliers have changed market dynamics. "Australian salad used to be the main product in those markets, but that's not the case anymore."
As a result, the company's focus has pivoted towards domestic retail, where its integrated, national model delivers clearer advantages.
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Weather continues to be the most consistent operational challenge. Haw describes this year as broadly positive, noting, "Demand is there, which is good", helped by generally warm conditions.
However, heavy rain events have caused problems. In baby leaf production, excess rain can quickly undermine quality. "We've got a very small crop with a small root system, and if you get too much rain, it flushes the nutrients out," Haw says.
"You're trying to produce a crop in three weeks, and the rain washes the food out, so you get yellowing, disease, and other issues." When heavy rain is followed by heat, the risks increase further, with crops growing too fast, becoming soft, or rotting.
Experience allows some mitigation. "There's a lot you can do," Haw says. "You change spray programs, adjust feeding regimes, dry your beds off. There are lots of small things you can do that help you get through, but that really comes from experience over time."
Looking ahead, Haw's expectations are deliberately measured. "We just want stable production," he says. Ideal conditions would mean "some rain, not all at once, and some heat, not all at once", with warm days, cool evenings, and controlled inputs. But whatever the weather brings, he believes scale, integration, and consistency will continue to separate his business from smaller, more niche producers.
For more information:
Jeremy Haw
Hussey and Co
Tel: +61 437 858 825
Email: [email protected]
husseyco.com.au
