our story

If there was ever a prompt for a lifestyle change, it is starting a family, and Shannon and Robert had at least three good reasons to do so!

In 2001, Robert and Shannon Auton, and their toddler triplets Sarah, Jack and William relocated to an orchard in Omaha, New Zealand to grow organic blueberries.

The 'organic' market was growing incrementally in some other countries across the globe and the Auton's saw huge potential to make spray-free organic food a mainstream staple in New Zealand, and later, further abroad.

For the first four years, Robert and Shannon, (with a lot of support from family and friends) segmented the operations for example, Wednesdays were for weeding, Thursdays were for sorbet production, nighttime was for business admin (once the triplets were in bed) and Saturdays spent at the markets selling.

As the years went on, demand for certified organic food has significantly grown and oob organic now proudly retail across New Zealand, Australia, the UAE, Vietnam and Hong Kong. 

being certified organic

Fundamentally, our core belief is that there is a place for quality, certified organic products in a competitive food market, where taste and health are important to our consumers. We are New Zealand’s leading certified organic experts bringing the world’s best organic fruit, vegetables, and ice blocks. We send our deliciousness all over the world so that all like-minded organic lovers can experience the taste of summer all year round. We grow our own, as well as partner with other organic farmers who share our philosophy, values and commitment to certified organic to deliver our year-round frozen food.

fruitful partnerships

Meet Jorge (left), oob organic's Chilean partner grower. The story goes, that Shannon and Robert (right) met Halle, who later moved to Omaha and was the triplets primary school teacher. Halle as it happened, had a friend starting an organic enterprise in Chile, called Jorge.

Robert and Jorge quickly forged a connection and a fruitful (pun intended) business relationship. Jorge's family orchard is based three hours south of Santiago, Chile which the Auton's visit annually.