If you buy fresh berry fruit in the North Island, chances are it has the Berryfresh brand on it and was grown on a 29.5 hectare Te Awamutu property.
After 40 years, that property and the business it sustains are now for sale.
Berryfresh, also known as Te Awamutu Berry Fruit Exporters or Flays Berry Gardens was founded in 1984 by Murray and Anne Flay. Murray’s parents Gaidyn and Mabel started growing berries on the property five years earlier, as Murray explains.
“It was originally a run-off for the family dairy farm. We were initially in partnership with my parents, then took it over on our own account. We planted raspberries, blackberries, and boysenberries, which suit the climate and the soil. We also grew strawberries for a while. Although we have altered the product mix a little, including going with different varieties to extend the harvest season, raspberries, blackberries, and boysenberries are what we concentrate on,” he says.
Under the Berryfresh brand fresh berries go to supermarkets from Auckland to Wellington via MG Marketing and Turners and Growers, while frozen product is sold through commercial wholesalers. The Flays produce purees for their own use and for other commercial users, going into the likes of yoghurts and jams, and the property includes an onsite shop offering fresh berries, ice cream, and pick-your-own berries.
In the early days export contributed strongly to the revenue stream. Since then berries, have become much more popular among local consumers.
“We were geared more towards overseas, though now local consumption is huge compared to where it was, with a market for berries in every café, and on the menu in almost all restaurants. In the meantime, rising freight costs and offshore competition from countries with lower cost labour and less thorough health standards made exporting berries more difficult, so it evened out,” says Murray.
In a joint listing with colleague Rob Pierce, Peter Wylie of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Te Awamutu is offering Flays Berry Gardens for sale. Peter says Berryfresh has solidified its reputation as a leading producer of fresh and frozen berries for local and nation-wide markets.
“Boasting mature crops and fit-for-purpose infrastructure, this property comprises premium, flat, free-draining horticultural land. As a well-established and recognised brand, Berryfresh has diversified operations to include a wide range of fruit packing and trading, fruit processing, and value-add branded products, showcasing its capability for continuous innovation and expansion.
“In addition to its primary operations, Berryfresh utilises its processing equipment during the berry off-season to service third-party brands and food producers, showcasing its versatility\ and potential for diversified revenue streams.
“This family business presents a unique opportunity for anyone looking to capitalise on an established, successful enterprise, primed for accelerated growth and increased profitability,” Peter says.
Flays Berry Gardens employs four people full time, a handful of long term staff for approximately nine months of the year, plus casuals during the summer.
When they move on, Murray and Anne say they will most miss the people.
“Not just staff, customers as well. Knowing that you play a part in people’s Christmas celebrations is a great feeling. It is a very nice product to have, delicious and healthy, depending on what you put with it, of course,” he says.
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