Organic berry firm's exports double in sweet Coles deal

Robert and Shannon Auton's organic berry orchard at Omaha, north of Auckland, employs 25 full-time equivalent staff.

Berry company OOB's products will be stocked in all Coles supermarkets across Australia in a major coup for the company.

The products are already in Woolworths Australia, however Robert Auton, who owns and runs OOB (Omaha Organic Berries) with his wife, Shannon, said the multimillion-dollar deal was substantial.

"It's a significant deal for us because it doubles our exports in one go. It's helped add another 30 per cent to our overall turnover," Auton said.

"Now that we are supplying more than 1600 supermarkets in Australia, we expect to ship more than 500 tonnes of fruit this financial year."

Now in its 13th year, the company supplies supermarkets in this country and 860 Woolworths stores across Australia, with sales growth of more than 45 per cent year on year.

The new deal means OOB products will be in 750 Coles supermarkets as well. According to Auton, theirmain problem has been demand for OOB products continually outstripping supply.

"The difficulty with growing a product is you can't just manufacture it," Auton said.

"You can't make it appear from thin air so it really involves a huge amount of planning and forecasting and you can't rely on weather conditions."

The company now also sources berries from certified organic orchards across New Zealand as well as from the United States.

OOB currently exports berry products, however Auton said that if growth continued they would consider exporting their icecream products as well.

"If the organic trends continue on the current pathway, then the introduction of our organic icecream would make good sense," Autonsaid.

"Our strategy has always been export-oriented, because the New Zealand market is small for a premium product.

"This new business with Coles fits in perfectly with our brand growth plans in Australia."

Auton previously worked as a banker and wife Shannon in human resources, but he said he had always been a keen gardener and wanted a change into something a bit more tangible that would also allow him to continue his passion.

They began looking for the ideal orchard more than a decade ago, and happened across what they called the perfect place, situated north of Auckland in the Omaha countryside.

The orchard now has 25 full-time equivalent staff, although Auton notes that a lot of the work is done by machine.