South Australian retailer Adelaide Fresh Fruiterers prides itself on its exceptional service quality, both in store and through its deliveries.
A family-run wholesale food, fruit and vegetable business, its origin stretches back nearly 50 years to a small fruit shop in the suburbs of Adelaide.
For the past 18 years Adelaide Fresh Fruiterers has been based out of Morphett Vale, where it remains in the family, under the watchful eye of Dino Labbozzetta.
“My dad and uncle started off with a store in Norwood nearly 50 years ago, and it has just evolved and changed locations since then,” Dino says.
“I was a partner with them, and then bought it out seven years ago. They still help out.”
Adelaide Fresh Fruiterers is a business that has somewhat legendary status in the fruit and vegetable retail space, having been named Australia’s favourite fruit and vege shop by winning the National Retailer of the Year title in the “A better choice” Awards for 2024, 2022 and 2021 and coming runner up in 2023.
More than 30,000 shoppers nominated more than 370 stores for the 2024 Award, with Adelaide Fresh Fruiterers taking out the top gong for having “consistently demonstrated excellence and community spirit”.
Since taking over from his father and uncle, Dino has overseen a refresh of Adelaide Fresh’s small but mighty truck fleet, which it uses for deliveries to its customers’ doorsteps.
Moving away from vans towards trucks for their deliveries, Adelaide Fresh now boasts a fleet of four Hino 300 Series trucks with Pantech bodies. This includes a recently delivered three-pallet model, which has already been put to work.
“They’re all refrigerated — a couple are car-licenced, and the others are medium rigid truck licenced,” Dino says. “Our driver team have preferred the trucks over vans. They’re much happier driving the Hino trucks over what we used to have.
“They’re all unique, different sizes. Some have tailgates, some don’t. Some have twin side doors while others have rear doors.”
Dino says the transition to the Hino 300 Series trucks and a range of custom body types had increased the productivity and flexibility of the fleet, particularly with the ability to easily stack and transport pallets and boxes.
“It’s been a pretty easy transition,” Dino says. “The trucks are easier to load, as far as the square bodies go. You don’t have to worry about wheel arches, and you can throw a pallet in the back. They’re a bit more versatile.”
The Hino 300 Series refrigerated truck bodies were built locally by Alaskan Air and range in size to include 2, 3, 4 and 6 pallet capacity.
Dino and the Adelaide Fresh team have worked with CMI Hino Adelaide for all their servicing needs for the past five years, and Dino says it makes scheduling a breeze.
“Maintaining the trucks is very easy,” he says. “CMI Hino Adelaide has a depot at Lonsdale, which is only a few kilometres from us, which makes it convenient to get to.
“The Hinos are all automatic, so they’re a lot easier to deal with. They go longer, last longer and have less problems.”
Keeping Adelaide Fresh
A day in the life at Adelaide Fresh is one that starts bright and early in the morning.
Dino and the team get out to the local markets to buy all their produce fresh and local, helping to support the Adelaide community and give their customers the best products possible.
“We go to the market, pick out the fruit and veg and bring it to the shop,” he explains.
“Once we get back, we have a team that delivers wholesale orders in our Hinos to restaurants and cafes.
“We’ve also got a team of people that fill the shop up for our retail customers.”
It may sound simple on the surface, but the team works diligently to ensure that the quality is always there for their customers.
The refrigerated bodies on the Hino 300 Series ensure that produce stays fresh when it is on the journey from the markets to the shop, and then from the shop out to businesses and houses.
While a lot has changed since Dino took over, he says the reliability of their service to customers has never faltered.
“The business has changed a fair bit. We’ve expanded the shop outwards, and we’ve got a warehouse out the back,” he says.
“For the delivery side, we’ve only gotten busier. We can only continue to get busier as well. We’re servicing a unique area in the south of Adelaide.
“Retail has had its challenges, but on the upside, it’s only been growth since getting through those challenges.
“Service and quality has been key to it. It’s what makes customers keep coming back. They want to feel important. They recognise service.
“It sounds simple, but retail can be quite simple. If you’ve got a product that people want and you offer trusted, comfortable service, it can take you a long way.”
As for the Awards, Dino says they offer great feedback for the team, and inspiration that they are on the right path.
“We’re very proud of our awards,” Dino says.
“They were people’s choice, so the customers vote for it. It was about 400 shops involved, so we were very proud to win.”
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