“At that time, we would have been mainly known as potato merchants. We would have wholesaled potato, sold in bulk to other wholesalers around the country who would in turn then distribute the product on to their customers,” he said.
By the 1990s, Justin said he noticed the business was changing, and that the wholesale trade was “dying a death”. “Now, we wash and cut and slice and dice and prepare the vegetables. Supplying restaurants, hotels, nursing homes, hospitals with their fruit and vegetables,” he said. “From primarily being a wholesaler, we’re now a food service business. Every generation we’ve had to diversify. You couldn’t just stand still and keep doing the same thing, you’ve got to constantly be thinking on your toes.”
There have always been challenges, such as the changing nature of the retail sector, as well as “astronomical” increases in the cost of electricity, freight and diesel, but Justin is determined to ensure a long-term future for the business.