On the 3rd March, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council launched a new trademark, Mornington Peninsula Produce.
Mornington Peninsula Produce
As Mornington Peninsula residents, and its many visitors already know, the Shire is renowned throughout Victoria and beyond for the quality of its foods and wines: “Everything from avocados to artichokes, broccoli to beetroot, herbs to heirloom vegetables, apples to asian greens, pears and plum, potatoes and parsnips, goats’ milk & cheese, lamb, beef, mussels, chicken, free range eggs, salad mix, truffles, olives and garlic”, as the new MPP says.
The new brand will provide residents and visitors with confidence that they can obtain produce grown or sourced entirely from the Shire. It’s a strong local food brand, backed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which ‘can be used only by farmers who grow their produce within the Mornington Peninsula Shire.”
At the launch at local heritage farm, The Briars, 17 local producers received their certificates of registration from the Mayor, Graham Pittock.
Mayor Graham Pittock awarding certificates to local producers
The Mayor remarked that:
‘This is a new brand that will resonate with foodies. It is the culmination of work over six years by the economic development team in Council to identify quality local produce, and support our local farmers. The brand will educate the public about where their food comes from, build trust in our region, and encourage more producers to join.’
The first farming businesses to be featured as registered producers under the trademark include the following:
- Peninsula Fresh Organics
- Hillock Downs Store
- Hawkes Vegetables
- Shoreham Valley Produce
- Peninsula Avocados
- Mainridge dairy
- Red Hill cheese
- Sunnyridge strawberry farm
A great deal of the credit for bringing the process of the brand’s development to this successful launch belongs to Rural Business Officer Gillian Stewart, who worked patiently and tirelessly with producers and authorities to negotiate all the hoops and complexities of such a major project. This significant achievement builds on Gillian’s work in developing and launching a Local Food Strategy for the Mornington Peninsula, supported by a Local Food Industry Advisory Board. We will be profiling Gillian’s work in more depth later in the year.
A selection of Mornington Peninsula Produce!
Sustain warmly welcomes the launch of this brand as an important step forward for the local, healthy and sustainable food economy sector, not only in Mornington Peninsula, but across Victoria and around Australia. Experience in North America has shown the importance of brand recognition in educating residents and visitors to support local producers and food businesses. The next exciting step will be the creation of trademark for ‘Mornington Peninsula Artisans’. Watch this space!