Australian Premium Dried Fruits

What Australian Premium Dried Fruits does

Australian Premium Dried Fruits (APDF) is a privately held, 100% Australian-owned dried fruit processor headquartered in Merbein South, Victoria, that operates as Australia's largest fully integrated dried vine fruit company. The business spans the full value chain from own-farm production (1,000ha) and contracted growers (1,600ha across VIC, NSW, SA) through to processing and distribution, producing premium Australian Sultanas (Thompson Seedless, dried on the vine), Australian Currants (proprietary 'Carina' variety), Australian Sunmuscats (unique muscat-flavoured varietal), Mixed Fruit Blends, and the premium Red Desert Clusters SKU. Core processing technology centres on a Merbein South facility equipped with TOMRA 5C optical sorting (laser scanning, color sorting, metal detection) capable of up to 4% yield improvement and 50% capacity uplift, combined with low-impact handling techniques and industry-leading cold storage for both raw material and finished goods.

APDF sells to two distinct customer segments: (1) industrial/food-service buyers including food manufacturers, bakeries, cereal producers, and food service operators supplied via direct B2B bulk sales in 5kg, 12.5kg, 14kg cartons and 350kg bulk bins; and (2) retail and OEM customers supplied through its parent company Scalzo Foods (one of Australia's leading dried fruit and nut packaging companies) in BRC-accredited facilities. The company operates across both domestic Australian and international export markets, and holds BRC, SQF/ISO 9001, BSI HACCP & GMP, Halal Australia, and Kosher Australia certifications supporting global food-safety compliance. With 11-50 employees, the company currently processes over 10,000 of the 18,000 total Australian tonnes (approximately 40% of national output) and has stated targets to reach roughly 70% of the Australian crop by 2025, supported by proprietary Australian varietals that compete against traditional Greek and Turkish currant supply.

Name

Australian Premium Dried Fruits

Legal name

Australian Premium Dried Fruits

Website

https://apdf.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Australian Premium Dried Fruits is Australia's largest fully integrated dried vine fruit processor, producing premium Australian Sultanas, Carina Currants, Sunmuscats, and blended SKUs from own and contracted vineyards for industrial food manufacturers, bakers, and retail/OEM customers via parent Scalzo Foods.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dried Vine Fruit Processing

NAICS

Noncitrus Fruit and Tree Nut Farming (11133)

SIC

Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Dried Fruit & Fruit Snacks Manufacturing (AFAKAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fruit Snacks & Dried Fruit (CRADABAJ)

Keywords

• Dried fruit processing
• Vine fruit products
• Dried grape manufacturing
• Bulk dried fruits
• Food ingredient supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Merbein South

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dried Grape Product Sales: Primary revenue from processing and selling premium Australian dried vine fruits including sultanas, currants, and sunmuscats. Products sold in bulk (5kg cartons, 12.5kg cartons, 14kg cartons, 350kg bulk bins) and retail packs. Revenue streams include both domestic Australian market and international export markets.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Australian Premium Dried Fruits (APDF) is a vertically integrated dried vine fruit processor that grows, harvests and processes premium Australian sultanas, currants and sunmuscats. The company supplies bulk dried grape products (in 5kg, 12.5kg, 14kg cartons and 350kg bulk bins) to industrial food manufacturers, bakeries and cereal producers, and supplies retail packs and OEM products through its parent company Scalzo Foods.

Product overview

Australian Premium Dried Fruits is Australia's largest fully integrated dried fruit company, operating from farm to plate with complete product integrity. The portfolio consists of three core raw product lines (Australian Sultanas, Australian Currants, and Australian Sunmuscats) and three processed/offered product lines (Retail Packs, Mixed Fruit Blends, and Red Desert Clusters). The raw products are dried on the vine using natural techniques and processed through a state-of-the-art facility with laser scanning, color sorting, and metal detection technology. Retail products are supplied via parent company Scalzo Foods, while bulk products (including mixed blends and clusters) are sold to industrial and foodservice customers. The company emphasizes low-impact processing techniques to maintain premium fruit characteristics and prolong shelf life.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Australian Sultanas: Premium sultana dried grapes with natural light base colour, produced using Thompson Seedless variety dried on the vine.
• Australian Currants
• Australian Sunmuscats
• Red Desert Clusters
• Mixed Fruit Blends
• Retail Packs

Products and services

• Australian Sultanas

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% market share of Australian dried grape crop, projected to 70% by 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Scalzo FoodscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParent company Scalzo Foods supplies APDF retail products. They are one of Australia's leading dried fruit and nut packaging companies. Products are packed in a Scalzo Foods facility certified to the highest retail food safety and quality standards including BRC accreditation.
• Contracted Growers (70+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 70 contracted growers supply raw material to APDF. Combined with over 100 extremely important grower partnerships spread into 3 different states (VIC, NSW & S.A). Growers supply over 5,000 metric tonnes of raw material annually.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Angas Park Fruit Company: Long-established Australian dried-fruit (sultana, currant, raisin) packer and brand. Directly competes with APDF/Scalzo for shelf space and industrial accounts in the Australian market.
• Koukakis Bros (Greek currants): Greek processor of Vostizza and other traditional currants, the leading non-Australian currant origin cited by APDF as a benchmark competitor in the global industrial currant trade.
• California Raisins (Raisin Administrative Committee / Carriere Family Farms): US industry body and major California dried grape processors representing the world's largest dried-grape production region. Comparable in single-origin, single-category concentration and global export orientation to APDF.
• Sun-Maid Growers of California: Iconic cooperative/brand producing and marketing dried grapes (raisins/sultanas) globally. Most direct functional peer to APDF in dried-vine-fruit processing, sourcing from a single origin with branded retail and bulk ingredient channels.

Broad incumbents

• Dole Food Company: Global packaged fruit and ingredient producer with significant dried-fruit and ingredient operations. Comparable in integrated sourcing, processing, and large-scale retail/OEM distribution across multiple fruit categories.
• Scalzo Foods: APDF's parent company and one of Australia's leading dried fruit and nut packaging companies. Operates the retail/contract-manufacturing channel through which APDF retail packs reach consumers, making it the closest channel peer.
• Wonderful Company (Paramount Farms): Vertically integrated US tree-crop and dried-fruit producer (pistachios, almonds, POM Wonderful). Comparable in farm-to-package integration, branded export positioning, and agricultural supply-chain scale.

Regional players

• Murray River Organics Group: Australian producer of organic dried fruits, vines and grapes in the same Mildura/Murray River region. Operates in adjacent fruit-processing categories with overlapping grower base and export channels.

Emerging players

• Ocean Spray Cranberries: Farmer-owned cooperative with vertically integrated berry processing, drying and ingredient sales. Comparable cooperative-style grower ownership model and farm-to-ingredient control to APDF's grower-plus-own-farm structure.

Others

• TOMRA Food: Technology supplier whose TOMRA 5C sorter is installed in APDF's Merbein South facility. Relevant as an enabling technology and adjacent ecosystem participant in advanced dried-fruit sorting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@theme_fusion
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Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Australian Premium Dried Fruits