To celebrate the launch of the Northern Adelaide Plains website, this month we are looking at growers who are paving the way for innovation in the region.
You may have seen Healthy Heart Produce’s cauliflower rice on the shelves at your local supermarket. The story behind the wildly popular product is a great example of innovation from the Northern Adelaide Plains.
It all started when local grower T Musolino & Co wanted to stop a lot of cauliflower going to waste, simply because it did not meet the strict aesthetic standards of supermarkets. The solution? Create a value-added product!
Teaming up with SAFCOL, Chris Musolino from T Musolino & Co began testing out ways to manufacture a cauliflower rice product with a difference: this difference is a long 90 day shelf life. As a plus, this shelf life is achieved without preservatives - to maintain freshness, the cauliflower is harvested and riced on the same day. Healthy Heart Produce was born from this innovation, and it has gone from strength to strength ever since.
Chris, now Director of Healthy Heart Produce, was awarded the AusVeg South Australian Young Grower of the Year Award in 2017 for being the first in Australia to develop the Cauliflower Rice.
T Musolino & Co’s cauliflower harvest
Next, the team worked on a new product with SAFCOL: sweet potato rice. This success led to a collaboration with Adelaide food processors UniFresh on some shorter shelf life products like zucchini noodles and a combination of cauliflower, sweet potato, and broccoli rice.
But they’re not stopping there - the team is currently experimenting with new varieties of veggie rice. While we can’t say what they are, we’re sure they’ll be just as delicious!
Nowadays, you can find Healthy Heart Produce stocked in Woolworths Supermarkets across South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Next, Chris hopes to break into New South Wales and Victoria.
They have also had success with export markets - travel to Vietnam and Malaysia, and you may see Healthy Heart Produce in some high end supermarkets. Chris tells us they are also in negotiations to supply to consumers all over South East Asia.
Stay tuned for more stories about innovation in the Northern Adelaide Plains.