Growing concern

A life-changing event has been turned into a successful enterprise by Mark Millis, as he explains.

  Watch the video of Mark Millis from Flavorite Tomatoes by clicking here.

At the age of 41, Mark Millis (right) had an unexpected heart attack. This bolt out of the blue pushed Millis into his own sea change.

But rather than put his feet up and grow a few tomatoes in the backyard, he turned his reality check into a pay cheque.

Millis founded Flavorite Tomatoes, and says that growing a crop has helped sustain not only his livelihood but his outlook.

All Flavorite tomatoes are grown hydroponically, and have the taste, smell and look of the home-grown product. Established in 1988 in Warragul in country Victoria, Flavorite had about 200 tonnes of production by 1994.

Not being able to keep up with demand saw operations move to bigger digs, and the company now boasts 4000 tonnes production in its own right annually, turns over $38 million and employs more than 140 people.

Flavorite has also established a network of other growers all along the east coast of Australia as well as in South Australia, so that the company now sells a total of around 9000 tonnes every year.

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