“Just doing what your competitors are doing is the best way to lose business,” according to Michael Simonetta, CEO of Perfection Fresh Australia Pty. Ltd.

He shared this wisdom with a group of Ontario food producers at a recent event in Guelph, hosted by the Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC). Martin Gooch, AAC’s recently appointed value chain coordinator, worked at Perfection Fresh for two years and was involved in developing a number of value chains, including one for grape tomatoes.

Perfection Fresh won an international award for best new fresh produce product of 2001 for grape tomatoes. Mr. Gooch says the Sydney-based company became a market leader in Australia and Asia by establishing alliances with seed companies, growers, packers, processors, distributors, retailers, marketers, restaurants and customers.

Mr. Simonetta told the audience that “only the consumer’s perception of value matters” and consumers make their decisions based on “taste, then looks, then price.” He believes that proactive, consumer-focused organizations that work with the entire chain are the ones that will succeed in the food industry.

“Perfection Fresh is clearly onto something,” says Bob Down, a farmer from Huron County. “The company understands that its products have to satisfy or exceed the demands of consumers and they work back from that premise. As a producer, I’m sensitive to the need for producers to benefit from these alliances.”

Mr. Gooch, of the AAC, hopes to encourage Ontario’s agri-food industry to adopt some of the strategies Perfection Fresh has employed so effectively, particularly in the areas of quality assurance and food safety. “Even in the highly competitive market in which Perfection Fresh operates, the company is successful because it has built alliances that span the entire food production chain, from producer to consumer. This approach enables the company to provide superior service, thereby continually improving supplier, customer and consumer confidence.”

He is contacting key personnel in the agriculture and food industry to explore the potential for establishing or enhancing strategic alliances.

Anyone interested in pursuing the value chain concept is encouraged to contact him at 519-822-7554 or Martin's e-mail. The Agricultural Adaptation Council is a non-profit coalition of 54 agricultural, agri-business and rural organizations working together to support Ontario’s agricultural sector and rural communities. The AAC receives its funding through Ontario’s share of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development (CARD) fund. The AAC supports projects that foster long-term growth, self-reliance, competitiveness and employment for Ontario agriculture.

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For more information:

Martin Gooch, (519) 822-7554, Martin's e-mail or

Mary Jarvis, (519) 822-7554, Mary's e-mail