By Joe Helm
Sun Sprout Ltd, New Zealand's largest supplier of edible sprouts and salads, has bought Australia's largest supplier of gourmet salad greens for an undisclosed sum.
Tracey O'Toole, sales and marketing manager for Sun Sprout, said one of the main reasons for buying the company, Melbourne-based Brian Hussey's and Co,
was the large, unsatisfied demand for salads from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants.
"We are doing about 3000 kilos of salad a week at the moment," she said.
"We used to be a sprout company which did salads but this makes us a salad company that does sprouts."
She estimates the purchase of Brian Hussey's will add about a third to Sun Sprout's sales and will ensure continuity of supply.
Market growth is coming in the retail side through supermarkets and in the food service industry.
"Chefs love this stuff," she said.
"They can take it out of the box and put it on a plate. It is clean and fresh and they don't have to wash and chop up heaps of different ingredients to make a salad."
Tracey O'Toole said Sun Sprout, best known for its "Sproutman" range of products, would import product from Australia. She said the salads had a 10-day shelf life.
Sun Sprout exports mesclun salad greens to Hong Kong and Singapore and Brian Hussey's exports it to Japan. Sun Sprout is owned by Waytemore Investments, a company associated with Sir Richard Carter.
Tracey O'Toole said Hussey's had earned a reputation as a premium supplier to the food service industry by developing innovative product mixes.
Pictured: Sproutman's Rick Mannering and snow peas - one of the company's many salad products. HERALD PICTURE / MARTIN SYKES
