Located in Warkworth, the property consists of 26ha of glasshouses, housing approximately one million capsicum plants.
While the original growing operation can be traced back to a small business that began in a field in Matakana in 1988, the Southern Paprika Limited (today known simply as SPL) business started as a joint venture formed in 1998 by Alexander Cropping Limited (owned by Hamish and Robyn Alexander) and the Levarht Family of Holland. SPL was purchased by the New Zealand grower- owned cooperative, Market Gardeners Limited (MG Group), in March 2023.
SPL Today
Today, the 86ha SPL site is located in Warkworth, 60 minutes north of Auckland, is home to one million plants at any one time. The operation consists of five glasshouse complexes totaling 26ha.
SPL is one of the largest employers in the Warkworth region, with 130 permanent staff, along with 68 RSE workers Kiribati and Tuvalu.
MG Group
Since March 2023, SPL has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the grower-owned co-operative Market Gardeners Limited, trading as the MG Group.
Established in 1923, the MG Group is a leading fresh produce business, serving the entire market with a full range of fruit and vegetables through a network of nine large, temperature-controlled branches, as well as two MG Direct branches.
MG partners with hundreds of growers (many of whom are shareholders), along with retail and food service customers.
MG is also involved in a number of complementary businesses, including intellectual property, exporting, and marketing fresh flowers. It is the New Zealand partner for large international brands such as Dole and Sunkist.
In addition to owning SPL, MG owns 100% of the large Nelson glasshouse and outdoor growing operation JS Ewers, as well as the undercover berry fruit business Kaipaki Berryfruits.
