Thomas Bros
- Our Story

Thomas Bros Ltd operates in one of New Zealand’s most productive growing regions. Based in Riwaka, we’re surrounded by long sunshine hours, clean rivers, fertile soils, and the landscapes of Abel Tasman National Park and Kahurangi National Park. These natural advantages don’t just make this a great place to live, they help us grow some of the best fruit in the world.

That same environment supports a wide range of work across our business. From orchard roles to packing, grading, labelling, machinery, and logistics, there are many ways to be involved in taking fruit from tree to global markets. We focus on matching people to the work that suits them best, so both our team and our fruit can thrive.

We believe one of our strengths is diversification. Rather than relying on a single crop or system, we aim to do many things well — spreading risk while maintaining high standards across all operations.

We are deeply focused on fruit quality, particularly:

• Getting crop loads right
• Adjusting to the season.
• Understanding the yield plateau where quality and returns are maximised

While the scale of the business means management can’t always be as hands-on as we’d like, our decisions remain grounded in practical, orchard-based experience.

Over the past 5–10 years, the business has grown rapidly through:

• Strategic land acquisition
• Expansion of crop diversity
• Investment in a purpose-built apple packhouse
• Increased automation across packing operations

This growth has been intentional. We’ve focused on building strong systems and clear structures so people can work effectively in a relatively low-stress environment, even during peak periods.