Whilst Sydney and Melbourne battle for supremacy in the food stakes, Brisbane is sometimes left out in the cold when it comes to food innovation.
The now-famous “Flat Pack Antipasto” was actually invented in QLD. It’s an idea that we borrowed from Italy, where they sell mostly frozen product for use in the Cafes and Restaurants all over Europe.
Our inventor is Joe D’Allura, who has spent most of his working life in the food industry, including a staggering 30 odd years working at Conga Foods. He joined us a few years ago as part of his official ‘retirement’. So he’s a bit like Vince in the fact that we can benefit from his knowledge and experience over the many years that he has been involved in the Italian food industry.
Joe is a spritely 81 years young. He recognised the need for a product that was Australian made, wasn’t dripping with oil and had a ‘freshness’ about it that could translate into instant benefits for chefs and cafes alike.
Stephanie from our QLD team took the product to Bidvest Morningside, who is one of our largest clients in QLD. The product is made in Brisbane so they love to support their own!
The team at Bidvest Brisbane created “veggie stacks” using Sandhurst Tray Pack Antipasto. It’s very much ‘on trend’ as people are looking for healthier alternatives.
The ladies in the telesales team at Morningside were very impressed as they realised how easy it was to make a veggie stack and how delicious they are.
According to Kylie, our Bidvest Customer Services Team Leader, “It was the best interaction we have done with them so far in the 20 odd years that they have been selling the Sandhurst brand.”
A big thanks to Kevin and Stephanie from the QLD team and of course to Joe D’Allura for inventing such a great new product for foodservice!