Perfection Fresh and D'VineRipe announce merger

Fresh produce marketer Perfection Fresh and glasshouse operator D’VineRipe have announced that the two companies will merge as of 1 July.

D’VineRipe operates the largest glasshouse in Australia. The company is a joint venture between Perfection Fresh and the Victor Smorgon Group.

The merged companies will operate under the Perfection Fresh brand. After the merger, the company says it will be business as usual for growers, staff, customers and the industry.

The integration of Perfection Fresh (and its subsidiary Picasso Foods) with D’VineRipe aligns the companies’ strategies to control 70% of total sales through production, licensed varieties and fresh value-added processing by 2019. This figure includes a 50% increase to 150 hectares of protected cropping.

Perfection Fresh plans to expand operations across Australia and into additional categories, and aims to create 150 new jobs over the next 12 months.

“Our family business has a long history in food production and manufacturing; this is the next step in that evolution. Our new partnership with Michael and John, and their great team, gives us the ability to expand using innovative farming and growing methods to take advantage of Australia’s changing place in the world food chain,” said James Orloff, D’VineRipe CEO and Victor Smorgon Group joint managing director.