Potatoes, seafood in mix of quality-controlled products by South Australia's Thomas Foods International

South Australia's Thomas Foods International purchase of Mondello potatoes producer (in 2013) and partnering with Cappo Seafoods (2017) added to its tradition of farming and livestock producing that had total quality and supply chain control through to the retail level. Top centre inset: Alex Thompson, in the kitchen at Thomas Foods International new Murray Bridge abattoir plant, preparing meals for staff.
Images courtesy Thomas Foods International

Thomas Foods International grew to become the largest 100% Australian privately-owned meat processing company in the early 21st Century by adding produce such potatoes and seafoods to its mix.

Started in 1988 as what became T&R Pastoral, bringing together the meat industry experience of the Thomas (Chris and son Darren) and Rowe (Bob and son Simon), the company made a significant novel move in 2013 when it bought Mondello, one of the Australia’s biggest potato producers.  This was also the year the Thomas family took full family ownership and became Thomas Foods.

Thomas Foods became Thomas Foods International, delivering a range of meats and fresh produce to an increasing number of consumers in more than 85 destinations worldwide.  The strategy was to deliver meat and other foods in the same supply chain to the same customers. This extended to Thomas becoming a partner with another iconic South Australia family pioneer foof business from 1919, Cappo Seafoods. The combined entity, Thomas Cappo Seafoods, begun exporting seafood to Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China with the United States of America next in line.

The Thomases also maintained the family tradition of farming but concentrated on quality and keep control of the supply chain. It operated multiple farms in southern Australian producing lambs, Angus Pure cattle and potatoes taking care of vital first steps in the food production process, with livestock grazing freely in natural environments. Its Thomas Farm division kept control over the whole supply system. It offered delivery of its products to supermarkets, butchers and even homes.

The company’s Australian meat wholesale and food service division was complemented by the reputation of quality feed lots. In the 1990s, then-T&R bought a property called Maunu in South Australia's Clare and built what won Australian Lot Feeders Association Environmental Feedlot of the Year in 1998.

 Thomas Foods International in 2023 completed expanding its Southern Cross feedlot near Tintinara in South Australia’s upper southeast. It gained European Union accreditation, allowing the company to supply grain fed beef to that market. Since being accredited, Southern Cross feedlot added a state of the art feedmill and expansive cattle handling areas to enable total flexibility in drafting, inducting and trucking cattle.