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General News

4 July, 2020

Local fruit and vegetable business takes off

While some businesses are closing across the Tablelands, one business woman has seen her new venture go from strength to strength.

By Phil Brandel

Local fruit and vegetable business takes off - feature photo

While some businesses across the Tablelands are struggling, one business woman has seen her new venture go from strength to strength.

When markets started closing across the Tablelands Angela Nason’s earrings business came to a grinding halt. Around the same time, her father’s lime and dragon fruit farm also suffered a dramatic decrease in sales due to COVID.

“I started trying to sell some of my dad’s fruit on Facebook, then all of  sudden it became a regular weekly occurrence and then a lot more farmers reached out asking me to sell their produce.”

“Then more friends ordered food and more farmers approached me to sell their stock.”

From that interest Angela's business "Tablelands to Tabletop" was born.

In the past 8 weeks, the business has snowballed so much that Angela now has over 25 local farmers supplying produce and over 200 customers who order regularly, with about 50 – 60 orders being delivered per week.

Angela said she is connecting struggling Tableland farmers with consumers right across Far North Queensland.

“We are now delivering from Thursday Island to Atherton and we have expanded our range to include, avocadoes, tomatoes, berries bananas, pumpkins, capsicum, passionfruit, strawberries, eggs, sweet potatoes, eggplant and honey,”

Customers order via the website what they want or they can order a pre-prepared a mixed box

“You can’t get any fresher as we pick up from our farmers on Wednesday and then we deliver on Thursday and Friday.”

“When buying from the big supermarket's fruit and vegetables can be 2- 4 weeks old, we turn it around really quick. It also saves on transport costs, rather than sending fruit all the way down south, just to turn it around and drive it all the way back again.

“We also supply our fruit and veg without plastic packaging.”

Angela said that the new business has surpassed her other jewellery business and that she won’t be returning to the markets anytime soon, but people can still buy her jewellery online.

“I have had to convert my carport into a packing station; we can do up to a hundred boxes there,"

“But soon we are going to have to look at expanding into some sort of warehouse to work from and I’ve also hired a driver to deliver my boxes.

“We are also now looking for someone to supply us onions and greens like bok choy and broccoli."

For more details, visit www.tablelandstotabletop.com.au or call 0419 719 487.

 

 

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