Adelaide's Spring Gully Foods has targeted the pickled vegetable market with a new line of produce in a lift-and-drain packaging format.
The range includes Spring Gully dill cucumbers, along with Australian grown and processed pickled onions, olives, and capsicum.
The company claims the lift-and-drain plastic packaging, in which product sits in a basket within a container, is a first for Australia in this category.
The basket, which can be lifted from the liquid to allow easy product access, is made from polypropylene and was manufactured by packaging supplier PB Packaging in Victoria.
Spring Gully’s MD Kevin Webb believed the new range of cucumbers would help revive the retail gherkin market.
“We last processed Australian gherkins about 25 years ago when they were grown by commercial grape growers in the Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley as a secondary crop,” he said.
“Since then, we've been sourcing them from overseas,” he said.
“However, we recently signed a multi-year agreement with a large commercial market gardener in Virginia, north of Adelaide, and will receive around 300 tonnes of fresh cucumbers this year.
“This volume is anticipated to increase year on year.”
Webb said sourcing locally-grown cucumbers enabled Spring Gully to fill a gap within the condiments market.
“Our testing has shown the new Australian grown and processed product has a far fresher taste and we think it will generate new interest into what is a great traditional salad item,” he said.
The products will be sold Australia-wide through Coles.
