Company History

The original Costa fruit shop was established in Geelong, Victoria in 1888. Francesco Costa, a determined Italian immigrant and great-grandfather of our present Managing Director, operated the small 'Covent Garden' retail outlet that provided the base from which our current business grew and prospered throughout Australasia.

In 1934, Tony Costa assumed control of the family business and continued to develop it into a successful retail fruit shop, which still operates today. Tony's sons, Frank and Adrian, followed their father into fresh fruit and vegetable retailing during the 1950s, working with their father as well as opening their own wholesale operations, supplying local green grocers and restaurants. In 1959, the brothers purchased the business from their parents and continued growing the business rapidly.

Adapting swiftly to changes in the Australian retailing industry in the 1960s, the Costa brothers were amongst the first suppliers to service the new supermarket outlets with their daily fresh produce requirements. Providing direct deliveries to store, as well as liaising between suppliers and the central warehouse, the Costa brothers quickly established the foundation for today's vast business empire.

By the late 1960s the three younger Costa brothers, Anthony, Kevin and Robert joined the business and together they took the business from strength to strength, expanding into pre-packing, metropolitan wholesale produce supply and international shipping. The business soon encompassed all of Western Victoria and by the mid 1970s wholesaling opportunities were being realised across the entire state and throughout mainland Australia.

The passion of the Costa Group during the 1980s and 1990s, along with the success of our local and international customers, enabled us to grow into one of Australia's largest wholesalers, retailers, and exporters of fresh produce. In addition to trading in fresh produce, our willingness to invest in new technology and the sense of urgency placed on exceeding customers' demands, saw our company fast achieve industry recognition as leaders in perishable logistics and supply chain initiatives. The 2000s see us continuing to trade with and provide logistical solutions to leading retail customers both locally and internationally.

In 2004, Simon J. Costa became the first member of the family's fourth generation to be appointed to the leadership position of the Costa Group of Companies. In the same year a joint venture partnership with the May family saw the formation of Unigrain, a global exporter of quality seed, grain, pulses and potatoes, supplying customers in over 45 countries. In 2006, the Costa Family acquired the majority shareholding and management of the large Chiquita Brands South Pacific growing and trading company, which now forms the foundation of Costa Exchange. In 2007, a strategic partnering between Costa Logistics and Australia's largest cold-chain logistics service provider, Swire Cold Storage evolved into Polar Fresh, now providing dedicated storage and distribution services to a major national supermarket chain. Today the Costa organisation is one of Australia's largest growers, packers and distributors of fresh fruit, vegetables, grains and perishable products in the Australasian region.

Today we continue to expand our logistics customer base in the Food, Retail and other related market segments utilising our unique combination of people, process and technology.

The Costa Group proudly remains a fully owned and operated family business.