Costa Group
Costa Group is Australia's largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables, headquartered in Melbourne. It operates a vertically integrated growing, packing, and distribution platform centered on premium berries, mushrooms, citrus, avocados, and other fresh produce for retail and wholesale customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1888
- HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Costa Group does
Costa Group is Australia's largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables, headquartered in Melbourne and operating as a vertically integrated fresh-produce platform across growing, packaging, and distribution. Founded in 1888, the company historically traded on the ASX under the ticker CGC and employs more than 10,000 people across multiple produce categories.
The company's core portfolio centers on premium berries — blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries — alongside mushrooms, citrus, avocados, tomatoes, and other fresh fruit and vegetables. Operations span the full horticultural value chain: propagation and growing, harvest and post-harvest processing, packing, and distribution to retail and wholesale customers in Australia and select international markets. Recent strategic capital partnerships with Paine Schwartz Partners, BC Investment Management Corporation, and Driscoll's indicate institutional underwriting of a premium-berries growth thesis, alongside historical category expansion through acquisitions such as Adelaide Mushrooms (2013) and Lankester Avocado Orchards and Packing Operations (2017).
Costa Group makes money primarily through the production and sale of fresh produce — berries, mushrooms, avocados, citrus, and other categories — to retail, foodservice, and wholesale channels. The business model is B2B fresh-produce supply at scale, with vertical integration in cold-chain logistics and post-harvest handling that supports premium pricing. Following acquisition by Paine Schwartz Partners and BC Investment Management Corporation, Costa Group has transitioned from a public ASX-listed entity to a privately held portfolio company; specific current revenue, pricing, and customer details are not disclosed in the available source material.
Costa Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Costa Group
- Legal name
- Costa Group Holdings Limited
- Website
- https://costagroup.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1888
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Costa Group is Australia's largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables, headquartered in Melbourne. It operates a vertically integrated growing, packing, and distribution platform centered on premium berries, mushrooms, citrus, avocados, and other fresh produce for retail and wholesale customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Costa Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fresh Produce and Horticulture
- NAICS
- Berry (except Strawberry) Farming (111334), Fruit and Tree Nut Combination Farming (111336), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (424480)
- SIC
- Agricultural Production-Crops (100)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Tropical & Subtropical Fruit Orchards (Avocados, Mangoes, Bananas/Plantains, Pineapples, Papayas) (AFAGACAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Import / Export Produce Wholesale (Cross-Border Trading) (AFAIACAH), Fresh Produce Distribution (CRAOABAB)
Keywords
Where Costa Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourne
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Markets served
Costa Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Costa Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Costa Group is an Australian agricultural company that produces and supplies premium fresh produce, with a core focus on berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries). The company operates across growing operations, packaging, and distribution to deliver fresh produce to domestic and global markets, positioning itself as Australia's largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Product overview
Costa Group is an Australian agricultural company operating as a leading producer and supplier of premium fresh produce, with a focus on berries. The company operates across growing operations, packaging, and distribution to deliver fresh produce to markets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Premium Berries
Companies that use Costa Group
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Costa Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Costa Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Costa Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Driscoll's: Driscoll's is the world's largest berry marketer, specializing in strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries — directly comparable to Costa Group's premium berry focus and category leadership positioning.
- Naturipe Farms: Naturipe is a large grower-owned berry producer with global sourcing across the Americas, comparable to Costa's premium berry strategy and integrated grower-marketer model.
- Wish Farms: Wish Farms is a US-based family-owned grower and marketer of berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) with vertical integration, directly comparable to Costa's berries segment.
- Mission Produce: Mission Produce is the world's largest avocado grower, packer, and distributor — directly comparable to Costa's avocado vertical built around the Lankester acquisition, addressing the same global retail and foodservice customers.
Broad incumbents
- T&G Global: T&G Global is a New Zealand-listed fresh produce company with global operations across apples, citrus, berries, and tomatoes — broadly comparable diversified produce business model and geographic profile to Costa.
- Fresh Del Monte Produce: Fresh Del Monte is a global producer, distributor, and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables including berries, melons, bananas, and avocados — comparable diversified fresh-produce global operator at greater scale.
- Dole plc: Dole is a global fresh produce leader with diversified fruit and vegetable operations across multiple geographies — comparable diversified produce business with broader category and geographic mix than Costa.
- Bonduelle: Bonduelle is a global fresh and processed vegetable producer with significant horticulture operations — comparable vertically-integrated fresh-produce model and category overlap with Costa's vegetable business.
Emerging players
- Calavo Growers: Calavo Growers is a US-based avocado marketer and emerging fresh-produce player — adjacent peer relevant to Costa's avocado segment, though narrower in category breadth.
- SunOpta: SunOpta is a North American plant-based and fruit ingredient company with growing operations in fruit-based ingredients — partially overlapping with Costa's fruit sourcing and processing activities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Costa Group social profiles
Digital presenceCosta Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Costa Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Costa Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Costa Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Costa Group
What does Costa Group do?
Costa Group is an Australian agricultural company that produces and supplies premium fresh produce, with a core focus on berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries). The company operates across growing operations, packaging, and distribution to deliver fresh produce to domestic and global markets, positioning itself as Australia's largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Is Costa Group a public or private company?
Costa Group is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently acquired.
When was Costa Group founded?
Costa Group was founded in 1888. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Costa Group based?
Costa Group is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, in the Oceania region.
Who are Costa Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Driscoll's, Naturipe Farms, Wish Farms and Mission Produce. Broad incumbents are T&G Global, Fresh Del Monte Produce, Dole plc and Bonduelle. Emerging players are Calavo Growers and SunOpta.
Does Costa Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Costa Group.
What industry is Costa Group in?
Costa Group's product category is Fresh Produce and Horticulture. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAGACAF, Tropical & Subtropical Fruit Orchards (Avocados, Mangoes, Bananas/Plantains, Pineapples, Papayas), with a secondary code of AFAIACAH, Import / Export Produce Wholesale (Cross-Border Trading). Its NAICS code is 111334 and its SIC code is 100.