Delectable Dips Fresh from the Fodder Family Table
The provenance of Fresh Fodder’s hero Taramosalata dip recipe reads more like a movie script than a business plan, with its origins in the Sydney underworld around the family deli during Managing Director Max Schofield’s childhood.
Expanding from a backyard business for fresh-made authentic homestyle-Greek recipe dips into national retail with high-profile industry endorsement, the Australian family-owned company prizes premium Australian ingredients also valued by their customers.
“The recipes we use at Fresh Fodder are those my father created,” said Mr Schofield of his youth helping out in the family’s Sydney store alongside his grandparents.
With three generations of food industry knowledge and experience, Mr Schofield and wife Fiona launched Fresh Fodder from their garage in 2008 producing 25 kilograms of products each week.
Today, their team of 30 employees at the Fresh Fodder factory in Orange, central west New South Wales, produces more than 20 tonnes a week of Greek-inspired, handcrafted dips – sold nationally in major supermarkets, independent grocers, fresh markets, delicatessens and cafes, as well as in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Sharing Mr Schofield’s passion for “sustainable Australian provenance through local ingredients”, Australian family-owned premium canola oil producer MSM Milling is Fresh Fodder’s single biggest supplier from our world-class manufacturing facility in Manildra, central west New South Wales.
“We highly value Australian ingredients equally adored by our customers,” said Mr Schofield of MSM Milling’s naturally expeller-pressed auzure from Non-GM canola oil for “one of the healthiest oils on the market” to base dips.
“Our business has grown considerably in the past few years – particularly since the pandemic,” he said of the $400,000 manufacturing investment in 2020 which tripled their annual production capacity to 100,000 containers.
“It’s all about Australian-grown and made ingredients with low food miles – from one family business to our own – with consistency of quality paramount.”
With a full range of authentic flavours including the signature Taramosalata, smooth infused Hommous and Tzatziki, Mediterranean Tapenade, smoky eggplant Babaganoush, and Garlic and Parsley-Infused Spicy Jalapeno Dip, the range is best used for capanes, grazing boards and traditional homestyle meals.
“When we sell Taramosalata back to Greeks, we know we have made it,” commented Mr Schofield of brand-transfer potential from the popular dips and spreads into other entertaining categories.
“Who knows what’s on the horizon… sauces, salad dressings, cheeses, pates and more.”
With a personal preference for the original Taramosalata (affectionately known as ‘The Gangster Dip’), MSM Milling General Manager (Commercial) Josh Gordon said the neutral taste of locally grown and made premium auzure canola oil – high in Omega-3 yet one of lowest saturated fat contents of oils – perfectly elevated and emphasised the authentic flavours in Fresh Fodder’s delectable range.
“Our canola oil is free-flowing in the refrigerator, allowing for dips to be ready-to-serve as soon as you open them,” said Mr Gordon.
He described Fresh Fodder as “the real deal, with Max and Fiona’s unrelenting determination to create dips that embrace local provenance, quality and authenticity”.
“It’s been incredible to watch their business grow during the six-year partnership between our two family businesses, and to hear Aussies everywhere name-dropping Fresh Fodder’s irresistible dips as their go-to.”
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