My Berries recognised for innovative manufacturing on home soil

My Berries is an Advanced Manufacturing Excellence Award finalist in the upcoming Moreton Bay Business & Innovation Awards.

 This award recognises outstanding achievements by a manufacturing business that uses innovative technologies and processes to transform materials into new products.

Queensland innovators Stuart and Allison McGruddy founded My Berries in 2013, and last year launched a new freeze dried snack product nationwide made with locally grown berries.

Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery says this year’s finalists are an inspiration to all businesses in the region.

 “In the face of rising input costs, labour shortages and globally difficult trading conditions, these local legends have somehow managed to rise above seemingly insurmountable odds,” Mayor Flannery said.

 In the last 24 months, My Berries has upgraded and expanded its Caboolture facilities by investing in innovative processing and automated techniques that minimise seasonal food waste.

 An example of the team’s ingenuity is our new product - Freeze Dried Bites - where we take freshly picked, juicy berries and turn them into crunchy, highly nutritious snack bites, packaged like popcorn.

My Berries Director Stuart McGruddy explains that the science behind freeze dried technology relies on the process starting quickly straight off the farm to preserve the fruits’ vitamins and antioxidants.

“Specialised drying methods intensify the fruits flavour and texture to create berries that are sweet and crispy, and can be stored at room temperature,” Stuart said.

 “We have created a healthy, on-the-go snack that’s 100% fruit, nothing else is added – a 12g pack of our Freeze Dried Bites is equivalent to a 125g punnet of fresh berries.”

Last year My Berries won the Moreton Bay Award for Food and Agribusiness Excellence, and was named #eatqld champion by the Queensland Government, for supporting local farmers and the state’s agricultural sector.

“These awards and recognition reinforce the year-on-year growth My Berries is experiencing,” Stuart said.

My Berries products are made exclusively from surplus Australian soft fruits. They’re a staple in the freezer section of more than 1,200 stores already, now their new freeze-dried range can be found in the snack and pantry aisles too.

My Berries want Australians to snack on home-grown berries all year round.

 Director Allison McGruddy walks and talks the My Berries’ mission to find a home for seasonal berries and not to waste a punnet.

 “In peak season when there’s a surplus, we don’t want our hard-working farmers to discard perfectly ripe fruits, so My Berries cut, wash, dry and freeze it to safeguard the quality, supply year-round.

 “Our frozen and freeze dried products are a safe and sustainable alternative to imports in the off-season. 

 “My Berries can trace each fruit back to its original farm and proudly partner with farmers who grow their fruit with minimal intervention.

 “The map on every pack of our Freeze Dried Bites shows we source strawberries, blackberries and raspberries from Queensland’s Moreton Bay region – and blueberries from the New South Wales coastline.

 “We’re so proud that our family business is being recognised for finding new and delicious ways for people to enjoy Aussie grown and made berries,” Allison said.

 The 2023 Moreton Bay Business & Innovation Awards winners will be announced on 7 July 2023.