Pinnacle Fresh – Citrus exporter builds strength in the U.S.

Australian exporter Pinnacle Fresh is entering its 11th year exporting into the United States, and from a small start, it’s grown into a force in the market. Group Managing Director Alf Fabris explains that the growth has been strong.

He says, “It started off through humble beginnings, with a very modest risk of sending three containers over in year one, and then slowly built up over time. Year two, 20, then 40, then 60, then we broke 100, and then eventually last year we exported 567 containers to the States. So that’s the trajectory we’ve had since 2015, from 3 to 567.”

A big part of Pinnacle’s success has been Daniel Newport, who moved to the U.S. to work for the firm, originally with a very different aim in mind.

Fabris says, “When Daniel started working for Pinnacle Fresh USA, our vision was for him to basically run around the Valley procuring fruit for Australian imports. So the vision was for him to procure table grapes primarily to bring back to Australia from the Californian valley. But then one thing led to another. We had a bit of an interrupted year with protocols where grapes weren’t allowed to come in for two seasons, so we diversified a little bit and swung the pendulum the other way and said, let’s have a look at export. And that’s how Dracula Citrus was born, or how the Dracula Blood Orange brand came about. Daniel walked into the office one day and said, I’ve got this idea. I don’t know if it’s going to work; what do you think of the name Dracula Blood Orange, and Dracula biting into a blood orange? I said, it’s brilliant, let’s work on it. And from there we never looked back.”

Although Fabris believes that the U.S. has always offered a better market for blood oranges compared to Australia, he does think Pinnacle has helped expand it. “Through our branding and through our story, we’ve certainly helped grow the category. I don’t think any other business is promoting blood oranges the way we do. We tell a very unique story. I think that’s great for Australian growers, but I think it benefits Californian growers also. It has raised the profile of the entire category and helps them when they’re in season. So I think it’s been a win-win for both Californian growers and Australian growers.”

It’s a story that has caught the eye, with an American documentary producer creating a piece about the brand, which will be seen in the U.S. in August.

Fabris says, “I got an email one morning from the production team at All Access with Andy Garcia, and at first I thought it was a hoax, but then I responded out of curiosity, and that led to a follow-up phone call about whether we’d be interested in filming a documentary about our journey and our story in the U.S. Daniel, Vito Mancini from Redbelly Citrus, and I had the opportunity to fly to the USA, and we were able to tell our story at All Access with Andy Garcia’s studio in Boca Raton, Florida.”

Blood oranges are the bulk of Pinnacle’s program, but it does ship other citrus. “We’ve been able to add to the program in recent times. Dekapon Mega Mandarins are our second-biggest commodity, and we also export Australian navels, Australian cara caras, and Daisy seedless mandarins.”

Outside of the citrus season, the firm also exports mangoes, cherries, lychees and stonefruit to the North American market. Fabris says, “Last year we had a solid year exporting New Zealand-grown apricots to the U.S. We are venturing into new territory, which is exciting. We also had a successful season importing Jingold kiwifruit from Italy into the U.S., and this program looks set to grow again this year. We have an excellent reputation in the industry, and we have a lot of contacts. We’re enormously proud that growers trust what we do. We wear it as a badge of honour.”

For more information:
Alf Fabris
Pinnacle Fresh
Tel: +61 3 9369 0492
info@pinnaclefresh.com.au
https://pinnaclefresh.com.auPublication date: Tue 7 Jul 2026

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