Described by local Hawke’s Bay media as one of the region’s ‘Top 20 food heavyweights’, Apatu Farms has been supplying vegetables to some of the nation’s biggest food brands for more than half a century.
Farming 2500 hectares of freehold and leasehold land on the Heretaunga Plains in the so-called fruit bowl of New Zealand, brothers Mark and Paul Apatu are continuing a business started by their father Ken in the 1960s when he began contract growing tomatoes for Wattie’s.
Employing upwards of 250 full-time and seasonal staff, Apatu Farms has gradually expanded its client base and production to include apples, onions, sweetcorn, pumpkins and beetroot, which are processed by Heinz-Wattie, McCain Foods, Cedenco, and Greenmount Foods.
Well-known for its innovation, Apatu Farms also partnered with T&G Global in 2021 to launch a new apple variety called Poppi™ which is being targeted at high-growth Asian markets because of its thin skin, crisp sweet flavour, and rich red colour.
The brothers also own a half share in the Auckland-based Harvest Fresh export business, which sends about 85% of the Apatu onion crop to the northern hemisphere to fill a seasonal production gap. In addition, it exports carrots from another producer to the Middle East and Asia.
Livestock and grapes are also part of the mix. The business runs about 20,000 lambs, 3000 ewes, and 1500 cattle as well as owning three vineyards that produce chardonnay and pinot gris grapes for leading Hawke’s Bay labels including Coopers Creek and Beach House.
Proud of its ability to deliver a quality, consistent, and reliable product, the business is audited annually to meet customer demands for strict environmental protocols. “The goal is safe and sustainable food and beverage production to benefit community and consumers,” Mark Apatu says.
In addition to supporting the LandWISE on-farm research and development group, Apatu Farms has got behind Hawke’s Bay polo as sponsor of the annual Apatu Farms Wine Country Cup; Mark and his wife Louise also host fundraisers on their 4ha lifestyle property.
Tomato innovators
Founded in 1966 by the late Ken Apatu, Apatu Farms has been at the forefront of horticultural production in the Hawke’s Bay.
Ken, along with his wife Helen in raising three young sons, revolutionised the tomato industry in the late 1970s when he invested in the first FMC Cascade mechanical tomato harvester and supplied his entire crop to J Wattie Canneries.
That relationship continues to the present day, with Apatu Farms growing more than 2.5 million tomato vines to provide Heinz-Wattie with vine-ripened tomatoes for its range of flavoured tomatoes, as well as other crops for canning.
In the late 1990s, the company commenced onion production for the Japanese market and, in 2011, bought its 50% stake in Harvest Fresh, allowing it to secure the supply chain and expand globally.
Brothers Mark and Paul Apatu began planting their first grapes in 2009 on a 123ha block of family land at Ohiti, west of Hastings. They also own a 140ha vineyard valued at $16 million near Waipukurau.
Armed with the best equipment and machinery available, Apatu Farms is well known for its logistics. It gained local notoriety in 2019 when it created a ‘pop up’ orchard within a matter of days, turning a 12ha property into an apple orchard complete with wooden posts, wires, and trees.
NBR’s estimated valuation of his wealth will appear when The NBR List is published at the end of May.
