our story
Our Humble Beginnings
Proudly Australian farmer owned & operated since 1996
David was a farmer with a vision when he started AustChilli almost 30 years ago. David and his then small team of five employees started growing chillies and created AustChilli’s first product, which was a 22kg box of Red Cayenne Chill Puree.
Over the years, AustChilli has grown into a thriving, vertically integrated agribusiness that supplies leading retailers and food manufacturing businesses around the world.
David and his AustChilli team are always thinking outside the box. We pride ourselves on doing things differently – things that have never been done before. Whether it’s providing customers with new-to-world food products, uncovering new food trends, innovative farming practices, or creating robotic machinery to deliver operational efficiencies.
Our Timeline
1965
Growing Up On The Farm
1980
Four Generations of Farmers
Farming is in our blood! David’s Nonno, Angelo, was a farmer in Italy followed by David’s father, Giovanni, a sugar cane farmer in Bundaberg and now David and his son Trent—who is part of the business today!
1965
Growing Up On The Farm
1980
Four Generations of Farmers
Farming is in our blood! David’s Nonno, Angelo, was a farmer in Italy followed by David’s father, Giovanni, a sugar cane farmer in Bundaberg and now David and his son Trent—who is part of the business today!
1981-1990
From Farming To Agribusiness
After getting his trade as a mechanic, David started farming his own land. He grew a range of small crops from capsicums to beans and corn along with sugar cane for many years.
David and his farming collegues were constantly affected by the uncertain and fluctuating fresh market pricing for fresh produce which he felt was not sustainable. He wanted to grow his farming business into an agribusiness that could deliver growth and a future for his family.
1991-1994
Rise of The Chilli
In the early 1990s, Australian consumers weren’t very familiar with chillies, though they were more common in Asian and American households.
David and his fellow farmer, Jim Lyne, took a research trip to the US and Asia to explore the potential for a chilli-growing and processing industry in Australia. Inspired by what they found, they decided to grow chillies and use aseptic processing to add value. The goal: getting sauce manufacturers in the export market as their first customers.
1995
Launch of AustChilli Group
Austchilli is officially launched. The DePaoli family were joined by local officials, family and friends to celebrate the launch of Austchilli at local Bundaberg restaurant, The Spinnaker.
Austchilli started out on Bonna Road in Jim & Jean Lyne’s packing shed with a small team and a focus on chilli purees and fresh chillies, hence the name.
L to R: Trent, Kellie, Karen, David, Ainsley and Ryan.
1995
International Trade Shows
David and wife, Karen, started showcasing the company in Asia and throughout Europe at numerous Trade Shows with Australian government support. The goal was to secure export customers for our chilli purees.
1996
First export customer
Austchilli lands its first export customer. David, pictured here with Mr Tang in Malaysia was thrilled to secure Region Foods as the business’s first export customer. Region Foods, a sauce manufacturer, sourced Austchilli’s chilli puree to develop a sweet chilli sauce that was sold in KFC restaurants throughout Malaysia.
Austchilli is proud to still be working with Mr Tang almost 30 years later.
Photos: 1. David helping to unload one of the first export orders in Malaysia. 2. David & Mr Tang. 3. David and Sceti, Japan (still one of our customers today)
2003
New Factory site
Austchilli is growing. The team moved into a purpose built manufacturing facility on Goodwood Road. This site is closer to the home farms and provided room to accommodate future growth.
David is pictured here with some of the original Austchilli team.
L to R: Ewen Holzberger (who still works with us today), Matt Jones, Trent DePaoli and John Reisor.
2010
AvoFresh is Launched
Father and son team, David & Trent DePaoli saw an opportunity to combine their farming and food technology experience with their love of avocado. In doing so, AvoFresh was born.
AvoFresh provides consumers with avocado that is always ripe and always ready for them to enjoy and is now available in major supermarkets in Australia, New Zealand and throughout Asia.
2015
Childers Orchards Purchased
AvoFresh acquires it’s own orchards. The DePaoli family expanded their existing farm portfolio in Bundaberg to acquire Avocado orchards in nearby Childers.
Over the past decade, David and the team have used their experience and expertise in modern sustainable farming practices to create high tech and high-density orchards. The use of technology has enabled the AvoFresh team to produce high quality, nutritious fruit.
2024
Celebrating Milestones
AustChilli turns 30 next year. We now have a team full of talented, passionate individuals. The business has grown to be a major employer in the Bundaberg region with staff across agronomy and farming, operations, research and development, engineering, finance, marketing and sales.
Those who know David know that he’s always looking for the next opportunity. He likes to look forward, not back. So, what’s next for AustChilli Group? Ask David and he says “Space food – delivering natural and healthy shelf stable food solutions to colonies in space!”
Well, perhaps the sky isn’t the limit after all.
