The story of Coolibah Herbs, a family-owned business specialising in salad greens, mixed leaves and culinary herbs, is a classic tale of “from little things, big things grow”. What Michael and Jenny Bogicevic began in the early 1980s as a small, enterprising market garden business on 45 acres on the Mornington Peninsula has expanded into an innovative and award-winning operation growing more than 150 varieties of salad greens and 14 different culinary herbs on more than 1,000 hectares of farmland across Victoria. Michael and Jenny’s move from market gardeners to leafy-green specialists started at a school function when a fellow parent introduced them to mesclun, a mix of colourful leaves that originated in Provence. They were immediately hooked, and Coolibah Herbs was born. The couple’s children work in the business now, carefully monitoring every aspect of the process – from germination and growing to harvesting, packing and final delivery – to ensure quality. State-of-the-art equipment and, increasingly, organic farming are part of the Coolibah model too. “Michael’s a perfectionist and an entrepreneur who’s passionate about farming and organic produce,” says Jenny. It’s passion and perfectionism put to very good use.
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