In 1895, Francesco Costa couldn't have known he was about to lay the foundation for an international farming, packing and marketing fresh produce powerhouse. What started as a simple plan to fund his vineyard has sparked over a century of growth, passion and innovation.
Today, Costa leads the way in cultivating world - class fresh produce, harnessing advanced farming techniques and global partnerships to deliver the finest and most flavoursome fruits and vegetables to tables around the world.
We’re proud to honour and continue the Costa family’s legacy of passion, integrity and innovation, staying true to our roots. As farmers first, we pour heart and soul into finding better ways to grow.
Costa’s origins date back to 1895 when Francesco Costa, a wine producer from Salina, Italy, sailed to Australia to raise funds for his vineyard. He worked across Melbourne, Colac and Geelong before returning to Italy. In 1903, his son Joe followed in his footsteps, and by 1926, Joe’s brother Tony joined him, opening a fruit shop in Warrnambool within a few years.
In 1937, Tony married Mary Piccone, and the pair, alongside Joe, entered into a partnership with Geelong Covent Garden. A year later, Tony and Mary became sole owners, establishing Costa as a true family-run business. Some twenty years later, their sons, Frank and Adrian, bought the fruit shop and expanded into wholesale supply—a move that would fuel the company’s extraordinary growth.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the business continued to grow and change, with other Costa brothers Anthony, Kevin and Robert joining. Costa continued to flourish, supplying fresh produce to supermarket chains and relocating its wholesale and distribution operations to a larger facility in Geelong.
By the 1980s, Costa had become Australia’s largest wholesale distributor and exporter of fresh fruit and vegetables, trading from Melbourne's Footscray markets and operating distribution centres in Werribee South, Shepparton, and Monbulk.
Since that time, the Costa business has created new entities and invested in a number of new partnerships and technologies becoming one of the world’s leading fresh produce companies. Today, Costa stands as a leader in Australian horticulture, operating farms nationwide and bringing fresh, quality produce to tables throughout Australia – and, increasingly, at an international level via our valued partnerships and our farms in China and Morocco.
Appointed CEO on March 1, 2024, Marc joined Costa in September 2022 as Group Chief Operating Officer, later serving as Deputy CEO. Prior to joining Costa, he held senior executive positions at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in Melbourne and BMW Group, which included managing the Asia-Pacific region and leading BMW Group Australia/NZ as CEO & Managing Director. Marc holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a BA (Hons) from the European Business School, Germany.
As CFO since June 2020, Wayne brings extensive experience from senior accounting and finance roles with ASX-listed companies, including Spicers Limited and Symbion/Mayne Group. A proven CFO, he has led in complex environments across multiple geographies, managing transformational and organisational change in both corporate and operational settings.
Carl Phillips joined Costa in June 2014 in the position of Group Manager, Human Resources. In November 2016 he took on the role of Group Manager Human Resources and Business Services and he is now Chief People Officer, responsible for leading the organisation’s HR and WHS functions.
With an extensive background and experience in both human resources and industrial relations, Carl has held senior roles with the Australian Workers Union, Alcoa, Skilled Group and Coles Myer.
Manpreet joined Costa in 2014 and has performed a number of senior roles in the Mushroom and Vertical Farming categories. In December 2022 Manpreet was appointed General Manager Vertical Farming and is now Chief Operating Officer – Domestic, overseeing the Berry Domestic, Mushroom, Tomato and Costa Farms and Logistics businesses. Manpreet holds a Bachelor in Biomedical Science, a Masters of Commerce (Accounting/Commercial Law) and is a CPA.
Christian Parsons started his career with Costa in July 2010 with avocados and bananas, before moving into the Berry Category. In 2019 he was promoted to National Operations Manager and in July 2022 to the position of General Manager. In January 2025, he took on a new role of Chief Operating Office overseeing the Citrus, Grapes, Avocado and Banana businesses.
Appointed General Manager Berry International in June 2023, Leon brings 20 years of experience in the fresh fruit industry, including as CEO of Capespan, South Africa’s largest fruit company, and Commercial Director of Fresh Produce Group in Australia. Leon was also part of the start-up team for Dole in South Africa, where he helped build one of the country’s largest fresh fruit exporters. His expertise spans procurement, sales, product management, and market development.
Kirsty joined Costa in July 2022 as Chief Strategy Officer and transitioned to the newly created role of Chief Transformation Officer in March 2024. With extensive experience in strategy and sustainability consulting across retail and consumer goods, she has held strategic positions at KPMG, Coles, Unilever, and Bain & Company. Her global experience spans Europe, Asia, South Africa, and Australia. Kirsty holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.
David joined Costa as General Counsel in July 2012, bringing 19 years of legal experience, and was appointed Company Secretary in October 2012. Before Costa, he was a partner at Middletons (now K&L Gates), practising in commercial law and mergers and acquisitions.
Tony joined Costa in November 2012, bringing over 20 years of senior experience in procurement, commercial, and capital projects. Prior to Costa, Tony spent 17 years at Visy Industries, where he managed the group’s multi-billion-dollar procurement budget, major capital projects, and property portfolio. He has extensive expertise in team leadership, change management, innovation, and strategy development.
Rob’s passion for fresh produce began at a young age, working in his family’s wholesale business, and he joined Costa in 2013 as Regional Manager for FNQ blueberries. In 2018, he was awarded the Frank Costa Award for business excellence and went on to manage the category’s largest site in Corindi, NSW. After several successful years, Rob became National Operations Manager before being appointed General Manager in March 2024.
With nearly 30 years at Costa, Ryan has held several management positions within the company. As General Manager of Costa Farms and Logistics, Ryan leads the company’s wholesale market, providoring, and logistics operations nationwide. His deep experience in operations, supply, and senior management ensures the seamless distribution of Costa’s produce across Australia.
Cormac joined Costa in 2011 and has over 14 years of experience in the avocado industry. He has held various roles in sales, supply, and packing operations. As General Manager of Avocados, Bananas and grapes since 2022, Cormac oversees farming, packing, and marketing across these categories. He holds a Bachelor of Agribusiness and has extensive experience in large-scale agricultural operations.
For over 30 years, we’ve been growing delicious avocados across 600 hectares of our farms, alongside trusted grower partners. With nearly year-round production, we bring you exceptional Hass & Shepard, varieties, packed with premium quality and consistency. Our trusted Lovacado® and Vitor® avocados are ripe and ready to eat with a smooth buttery texture.
With a long and proud history of growing, ripening, and marketing, Costa’s bananas have become a household staple across Australia. Grown year-round in ideal climates, Costa is one of the country’s leading fully integrated banana businesses, ensuring that our bananas are delicious, fresh, and cared for at every step.
As one of the country’s leading berry producers, we’re proud to grow plump, juicy blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries bursting with flavour. From the first seed to the final harvest, every berry is carefully nurtured by our expert growers to ensure the freshest, most delicious fruit.
Costa is one of the world’s leaders in substrate berry production and innovative farming practices, with more than 900 hectares of protected cropping across Australia, Morocco, China and South-East Asia.
Our globally recognised blueberry Variety Improvement Program develops varieties highly regarded and recognised for their agronomic performance, flavour, size, texture and exceptional eating quality
Costa is one of the world’s leaders in substrate berry production and innovative farming practices, with over 900 hectares of protected cropping across Australia, Morocco, China and South-East Asia.
China - Yunnan Province
Costa is one of the world’s leaders in substrate berry production and innovative farming practices, with over 900 hectares of protected cropping across Australia, Morocco, China and South-East Asia.
Morocco
Costa is one of the world’s leaders in substrate berry production and innovative farming practices, with over 900 hectares of protected cropping across Australia, Morocco, China and South-East Asia.
Costa is Australia’s largest citrus grower, producing an extensive range of varieties sought after for their vibrant colour, balance of flavours and exceptional quality.
We grow mandarins, oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, tangelos and persimmons in the rich citrus-growing regions of the Riverland in South Australia, Sunraysia in Victoria, and Emerald in Central Queensland.
As one of Australia’s largest grape producers, Costa grows licenced proprietary varieties as well as proven public varieties from leading international breeding programs like Sun World, Bloom, and Arra.
With farms from Emerald and Mundubbera in Queensland to the Sunraysia region in Victoria, we ensure every grape - black, white, or red - is harvested, packed, and delivered at its peak.
We grow White & Brown Agaricus mushrooms across three Aussie states, bringing fresh, earthy flavour to your table, every day of the year. With over 20 million mushrooms harvested weekly, we’ve mastered the art of quality.
Thanks to our extensive production footprint, each mushroom is picked, packed and shipped within 24 hours of harvest to bring our customers peak quality and freshness all year round.
Bursting with flavour and nurtured with care, our tomatoes are the result of decades of dedication to growing practices that prioritise taste and quality.
From the first seed to your table, we take the best of nature and enhance it using innovative glasshouse technology, to bring you the juiciest, ripest tomatoes all year round.
Lovacado avocados are proudly grown and exported to key markets across Asia.
Our renowned 2PH and Vitor citrus brands and exclusive varieties of Phoenix® and Amorette® are exported to markets across Japan, Hong Kong, North America, South East Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Known for their sweet, crisp, and juicy flavours, our Vitor Grapes are enjoyed in more than 20 countries.
Our premium blueberries are exported throughout Asia, including Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
In the spirit of reconciliation Costa acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects where we live work and grow, and across all Costa locations to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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