THE Giangregorio family know a thing or two about patience, perseverance and commitment.

Together Joe and Antonietta, along with daughters Juliet and Maria, are Rainbow Fresh – a salad growing business out on the Adelaide Plains.

Their 300 acre Lewiston farm is where 500 tonnes worth of lettuce and other loose-leaf blends are grown each year, washed and bagged on site ready for distribution within 24 hours of harvest.

The open paddock farm has been in operation for 55 years, ever since Joe turned his passion for growing produce into a business.

Joe migrated to South Australia from Italy in 1960 and by 1968 was growing carrots, potatoes, lettuce and onions in Lewiston as G & A Giangregorio.

In the mid-1980s the family began trialling different lettuces at a time when both salad and good meal presentation were growing in popularity.

“The science behind horticulture also started changing, there was different seeds for different seasons, and with those sort of factors, we started specialising,” Juliet said.

We went from seasonal growing to coloured lettuces and doing them hydroponically, then moving in to salad mixes and then specialised in that.”

The business spearheaded the introduction of washed leafy salads into the South Australian market, after Antoinetta had discovered their popularity during a visit to Italy.

“We tried all different things and it didn’t happen overnight,” Joe said.

“We tried some fancy lettuce we called a delicacy lettuce, and we started to do a mix. We would pick it by hand and wash in a trough and slowly we improved.”

Then during the ‘90s, Joe became known as ‘The Rainbow Man’ for his colourful lettuces and the ‘Rainbow Fresh’ branding was born.

Sisters Maria and Juliet joined the business in an official capacity some 20 years ago, Maria taking charge of processing and Juliet sales and distribution.

Juliet said the taste of their product and long shelf life have contributed to Rainbow Fresh’s ongoing success.

“That’s because of the region and because of the growing and the skillset that is there,” she said.

We plant weekly and we will harvest daily, and it’s all machine harvested but we have a team who have a certain skillset – you have to be able to identify weeds and understand what is in your paddocks. 

“Our packaging shed is in the middle of the property and they will bring it in within the hour of harvesting, where it gets washed and processed.

“Then that evening it will be on a truck to come to the produce markets, which I will sell from 1am to 6am. 

“It will then go to shops and is on the shelf by 8am when the shops open, hence why we talk about a 24-hour turnaround.”

Juliet said she believes a unique passion is needed to thrive in the produce industry, which can be unpredictable and filled with highs and lows.

“That’s what we’ve got and that’s what you get when you hand down a business through generations; it’s this passion and it’s a pride,” she said.

“My sister and I have both probably at some point or another gone off and done our own thing, but now we come in together knowing that we want to do this together at a different stage of our lives.”

Rainbow Fresh is sold at Foodland, Drakes, IGAs and at some independent green grocers.

They also supply salads direct to the hospitality industry to be used in restaurants and cafes.