NUTRAFRESH was established in 2006 by its principal Jeff Stewart. Its original charter was processing and marketing of a large range of fruits and vegetables ranging from Avocado to Vanilla. During this era, the majority of produce was dried and packaged for reconstitution in the food and nutraceutical industry using an innovative technique and expensive machinery imported from the USA.
Over the last decade, NUTRAFRESH has evolved into a fresh food grower and supplier of premium products offered directly to the consumer. Its ethos is to make available premium fresh and naturally grown Produce utilising organic and biological practices to minimise the effects of chemicals from modern day living in what we consume.
The standards and specifications applied to fruits and vegetables presented by NUTRAFRESH is demanding, so when the tag NUTRAFRESH is observed, the customer can be assured that only the best naturally-grown Produce has been prepared for market. Certified Organic status is expected to be achieved for some of these products in the near future.
The hub of operations is conducted from the picturesque family farm situated on the southern escarpment of the Alstonville plateau. Views south over the Northern Rivers and east to the Pacific Ocean are most spectacular and those that visit here are captivated by its beauty. Avocado and macadamia nuts are the main orchard crops grown here with many other fruit and vegetables also produced which includes Davidson Plum and honey. All produce grown on the farm makes up part of the basket of Produce offered under the NUTRAFRESH label in particular with the Avocado orchard recently applying for “Organic Certification” with ACO.
Agriculture and Marketing in the blood.
The Stewart family have been associated with the land and
marketing for centuries. It can be traced back as far as William Stewart on a
small holding outside Stirlingshire in Scotland in the 1700s, through to Andrew
Stewart who started A L Stewart & Co stock and station agency in Tamworth in 1914, to the
present day with Jeff Stewart, founder of Nutrafresh.
Jeff grew up with farming and marketing around him. His grandfather Andy and father Max both had farms and operated a successful Stock
and Station Agency. So it was no surprise when Jeff finished his schooling that
he gravitated in this direction. He started working on the family farm
“Silverweir” near Tamworth, which produced wheat, sheep, cattle, pigs and irrigated lucerne.
Through other avenues of interest he became Vice
President of the Tamworth Pastoral and Agricultural Society, and also founded a
construction business called “Hail Safe Constructions” which was an innovative
move, being one of the first to erect hail netting over orchards, and shadecloth
over car yards and beer gardens. Jeff also owned and managed a promotions and
marketing company “Pioneer Promotions” which produced a monthly agriculture
magazine, organized country shows and field days.
Jeff's wife Susan is also from a family with an extensive background in agriculture - both in Papua New Guinea and the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales. So it was
this association that opened the eyes of Jeff and Sue to the beauty and
potential of the NSW Northern Rivers area. Together with their two young children Lex and Katie,
they bought what was cleverly marketed as “The Jewel in the crown”, a property
high on the Alstonville plateau overlooking the ocean to the east and with
views south to the horizon, and with rich volcanic soils several metres deep, this was now
their destination. The farm was planted with avocado and macadamia orchards
which was at the time a new and emerging part of the horticulture industry. These crops have evolved
over the years to become very popular and successful commodities.
Since that move in 1995, Jeff continued his entrepreneurial
activities within the agricultural and horticultural sector sitting as a
Director on Marketing Boards, at one stage being Chairman of Avocado Marketing
Company (AMC) which at the time was a major supplier to the main supermarkets.
Nutrafresh began its days following a request from a colleague
to supply his company with fresh pureed avocado which they could further process
to a dried product. This grew to a myriad of other fruits and vegetables in
huge quantities.
Jeff and Sue have changed and evolved Nutrafresh over the
years to where it sits today, with specific packaged produce marketed to the
connoisseur of fine, well-presented and packaged produce. So Jeff suggests that
when you think of fine food you’ll think of NUTRAFRESH, naturally.
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