Wholesome new home for Carman’s Fruit Straps

See Differently and Carman’s team up to provide wholesome new home for Carman’s Fruit Straps

[Image Description: A man wearing a See Differently shirt, smiling at the camera with his arms crossed.]

We are incredibly proud to announce a new partnership between See Differently with the Royal Society for the Blind and Carman’s, which will provide a new South Australian home for the manufacture of Carman’s Fruit Straps range.

See Differently has been supporting the blind and low vision community for 140 years with a wide range of services, support and technology. From their Gilles Plains headquarters in the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide, they provide a wide range of manufacturing and packaging services for Australian businesses. A key feature of the See Differently manufacturing division is the employment of more than 70 people with disabilities, at award rates in a supportive environment.

The partnership represents a significant expansion for See Differently and according to Damian Papps, Executive Director at See Differently, a fantastic partnership between two organisations with strong values alignment.

“Providing employment opportunities while making quality products that clients value is in our DNA. We have steadily invested in our manufacturing facility at Gilles Plains, and we are delighted to be working with Carman’s, a family-owned business who value wholesome products made in Australia,” Damian said.

“The partnership presents a significant expansion in our food manufacturing, and even more manufacturing employment opportunities in Adelaide,” Damian said.

A well-loved staple in children’s lunchboxes, Carman’s 100% natural Fruit Straps range will continue to be manufactured in Lobethal in the Adelaide Hills for the next couple of months while upgrades and new fit outs are completed at Gilles Plains. Later in the year the full team and all Carman’s Fruit Straps manufacturing will operate from the See Differently headquarters.

“The move is a real success story for Carman’s. We’re so proud of our Fruit Straps range. in many ways they’re our simplest products, made only with 100% real fruit. They’ve been so popular that we’ve outgrown our facility in Lobethal, and the partnership with See Differently allows us to expand production in coming years and explore new product innovation,” said Carolyn Creswell, Carman’s founder and managing director.

“Making our products in Australia is a must for us. See Differently not only offers high quality manufacturing services for us, but we are delighted to support a group that offers disability employment and other charitable services like guide and assistance dogs,” Carolyn said.

All existing employees in the Fruit Straps team in Lobethal will be transitioned to See Differently and it is anticipated the partnership will deliver new employment opportunities in the future.