LOCATED in Penfield Gardens, Marrone Fresh is a business with family at its core. 

Started by Tony and Maxine Marrone more than 30 years ago, Marrone Fresh has grown from simple beginnings to a business employing close to 100 people. 

For their daughter, sales and production manager Bianca Marrone, the business beginnings hold a special place. 

“Mum and Dad started the business 30-plus years ago on just eight acres with a small tractor with myself and my two brothers,” she said. 

“My dad used to put the veggies in the back of the boot and got to the market. We did it all ourselves. It was very rewarding.” 

A boilermaker by trade, Tony Marrone worked throughout the Northern Territory and Western Australia before working in the hospitality industry running restaurants and petrol stations alongside his wife. 

However, agriculture and produce has always been in the family according to Bianca. 

“When (Dad’s parents) came out from Italy, my Nonno used to do grapes and make his own wine,” she said.

I was about 10 years old, I used to work on the farms with my uncles doing broccolis and cauliflowers and I said to my dad, ‘Come on let’s do this,’ so we headed in that direction and we never looked back.” 

“My parents then purchased 12 acres where their house is and they kept growing and it’s just been growing year on year and expanding since.”

Marrone Fresh specialises in root vegetables such as parsnips and turnips and bunch lines such as beetroots and spinach, as well as producing soup packs for major supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths to be distributed nationally. 

As for her own involvement in the business, Bianca Marrone started working at a young age and has had a variety of roles, including administration, safety and sales. She is now involved in business development and general managing the site. 

“I have always loved being on the land, I prefer that side of the business,” she said. 

“We were out on the land and we had a small pack shed at the back of my parent’s property where I used to work on the line with the girls packing vegetables.”

As well as being involved in the business, Ms Marrone has also been studying, recently graduating with a degree in business management and is looking to study agronomy in the near future. 

She is also a mother of four children and said she had drawn inspiration from her parents’ relationship and the bond they have and what they have accomplished. 

“It’s been a beautiful partnership and they’ve done it together. My dad has always valued my mum’s input and in that generation women weren’t seen as business women,” she said. 

“There was a period where Dad was in hospital and my mum took over for a few months and she really proved she could do it. 

“It’s definitely been a partnership and a love for the industry, their family and their employees that has kept them going.”

While the company has grown year on year from its humble beginnings, there are constant reminders of where the Marrone family has come from, with one of the family’s original trucks – and tractors – taking pride of place around the office.

“That was one of the first trucks that my Nonno used to have and my dad likes to keep the history and remind ourselves of where we started,” Ms Marrone said. 

My dad likes to keep us humble and remind us where we started from.” 

It is these humble roots that also see Marrone Fresh place importance on giving back to the community. 

The business supports initiatives to help the homeless, victims of domestic violence, providing hampers at Christmas time, with Ms Marrone saying that community outreach was at the heart of what Marrone Fresh was about. 

“My parents have a huge heart for community outreach,” she said. 

“There is always some that needs help and if we are to do it, we will. It makes us happy and that is right at my family’s heart: helping people.” 

As for the future for the business, Ms Marrone said plans were to ensure the business was sustainable for years to come despite recent challenges. 

“It’s not always easy. The last couple of years with price increases, labour costs, fuel, transport, it’s been challenging so we are lucky we are at the size we are we can take those costs and still be here. 

“As far as growth, we have a lot of focus on the farm while getting things set up and being as sustainable and efficient as possible moving forward. 

“We are investing a lot of time and money to continue to grow a good product.

“It’s a long-term business and we are going to be here for a long time.”