The Story Behind The Tweed's Self-Sustainable Foodie Eco-system

The Story Behind The Tweed’s Self-Sustainable Foodie Eco-system

Kiff & Culture
April 27, 2022

Here at Kiff & Culture, we’re all about promoting environmentally-friendly local businesses. This is especially the case for those businesses in one of the hottest new foodie destinations in NSW – The Tweed.

We partner with providers offering farm-to-table food made from sustainably-sourced produce. Fresh, zero-kilometre gastronomy is our forte.

So when we heard about a neat self-sustainable economy between three local Tweed providers, we couldn’t help but prick up our ears.

Here’s the lowdown on this environmentally-friendly artisan food and drink ecosystem, which is quickly putting this part of Northern NSW on the foodie map.

Tropical Fruit World

Part working fruit farm, part citrus-soaked theme park, this brilliant local business has been harvesting juicy fresh fruit for over 50 years.

The family-owned heritage business follows a Biological Sustainable Horticulture philosophy, growing eco-friendly crops of over 500 fruit varieties. Some 40 farmhands tend to the lush property, which guests can visit on an insightful guided tour.

Around 2,000,000 of them pass through the gates each year to browse fresh fruits at the Plantation Markets. Others come to munch on gourmet goodies at the Plantation House restaurant.

Tropical Fruit World doesn’t just serve the public. The famous fruit grower also supplies numerous local businesses.

As Shona Fuller, its Sales and Promotions agent, told Kiff & Culture, “We work as a collective team to support each other to cross-promote and spread the good word about our diverse operations.”

“We have created unique partnerships with our neighbours, Earth Beer Company and Husk Distillers,” she adds. It’s these unique partnerships driving the region’s rise to prominence as one of the top foodie destinations in NSW.

A drone shot of Tropical Fruit World in the Tweed — A bird’s eye view of the sheer size and complexity of Tropical Fruit World.

Earth Beer Company

From a renovated old tin packing shed in Cudgen, the team at Earth Beer Company is producing tasty frothy brews with a strict eco-friendly ethos.

One of their more head-turning concoctions is the uber-inventive Avocado Kolsch. As the brewery sits on a working avocado farm, this creamy wheat body creation was the obvious choice.

But while the gang source all the ingredients they can on-site, some need to be shipped in.

Enter Tropical Fruit World.

“We teamed up with Earth Beer Company to create a tangelo beer with fresh tangelos picked from our orchard,” Shona says.

Husk Distillers

Husk Distillers is a world-renowned, small-batch booze-maker that hit the big time with its transformative Ink Gin. The mesmerising floral-infused drop features an exotic South East Asian flower that changes colour upon adding anything acidic—think tonic, lemon, or lime.

Husk hit the headlines again for its French-style cane juice rum. As the first (and only) Aussie producer to master the labour-intensive process, they’re paving a brave new path away from the classic English-style molasses recipe.

And where does Husk source the fruit to produce their award-winning spirits?

Tropical Fruit World, of course.

“We provide unusual tropical fruits for experimentation with Husk Distillers to deliver farm to bottle in the local area,” Shona says.