Putting the state’s best on the plate: both in WA and further afield

When brothers and former rock lobster fishermen Ross and Craig Cammilleri founded Fremantle Octopus in 2000, the eight-legged creature was regarded as a nuisance that raided lobster pots and cost fishermen money.

More than a quarter of a century later and things have changed, with octopus bringing in money for the Cammilleris.

Fremantle Octopus’s seven-boat fishing fleet helps supply raw and marinated wild-caught octopus to restaurants and retailers around the world, while WA is home to the Southern Hemisphere’s only octopus fishery with the Marine Stewardship Council’s blue tick for sustainability.

The company even invented its own LED-triggered traps that can be programmed to catch octopus of a certain size while producing zero bycatch.

For anyone interested in ingredients of provenance, Fremantle Octopus is an obvious choice, as proven by the company’s steady growth. Of course, doing the right thing is never a guarantee of success.

“From last year to this year, our retail sales, especially in Western Australia, have increased threefold,” the company’s national manager Niall Forsyth said.

“I’ve got no doubt that part of this growth is due to the exposure that we got at Meet The Maker last year.”

Held today at Crown Perth, Meet The Buyer is an annual trade show connecting West Australian producers with food buyers. This year’s line-up includes 85 local producers who will be sharing products and stories with an estimated 400 delegates including buyers from as far as China, Dubai and the UK.

While the 2026 edition of the trade show is a bigger, more international affair than the inaugural event staged in 2021 during COVID, Meet The Buyer’s focus remains unchanged – to give as many WA producers the chance to meet as many potential customers as possible.

“When you’re a food and beverage business, nothing beats face-to-face interaction, absolutely nothing,” Melissa Worthington said, the program manager of the government’s Buy West Eat Best labelling program and the presenters of Meet The Buyer each year.

“In my years of experience, it is so critical and key. It can make the difference between making or breaking a deal. It certainly builds trust and it shows commitment.”

It also helps contribute to the WA economy.

According to statistics supplied by Buy West Eat Best, WA’s food and beverage manufacturing sector employs more than 22,000 people across 1870 businesses and produced $9.75 billion in turnover in the 2024–2025 financial year: an increase of 10 per cent from the previous year.

But beyond the big picture figures, opportunities like Meet The Buyer are a chance for individual brands to make the right connections to create growth.

Sometimes these stories involve big names with Brownes Dairy and Great Southern Truffles using last year’s event to successfully launch their truffled cheese collaboration.

Other times it can be about giving newcomers a leg-up.

Just ask Sharon O’Connor-Harvey of Perth Brittle Company who got her products into Tucker Fresh after she got talking to the right person.

This year’s event reached exhibitor capacity in July and there are already a dozen exhibitors that have put their hand up for the 2027 edition.

While local chefs are always part of the crowd, this year’s delegation is a broad cross-section of the food industry and include representatives from major airlines, aged care facilities, mine sites and other businesses beyond the more obvious restaurant and retail sectors.

The mix of products is as broad as the shoppers. Some producers are big in both size and ambition. Others are small and reside at the more boutique end of the spectrum.

Worthington said there’s space at the table for businesses of every size.

“If you’re not the room, you’re not part of the conversation, and you don’t get to experience what is a fantastic day for the WA food and beverage industry,” she said.