Set In the rolling hills of Kulnura on George Downes Drive, Eastcoast Beverages produces the famous range of Eastcoast Juices and Samuel J is Managing Director. He carries the ‘J’ with his name because his cousin and company director is Samuel ‘L’ Lentini.
He is the successful face of the third generation of a local family business that has grown to become a major player on the national stage and can be found on the supermarket shelves of Coles, Woolworths, IgA, Spar, Foodworks, Drakes Stores and many other local stockists.
The little seeds of Eastcoast began to grow in 1965 when Salvatore Lentini picked and packed fresh fruit from his Central Coast orchards to supply to Australia’s famous Flemington Markets.
Years later, when the Australian government removed tariffs on imported juice concentrate, it became less profitable to produce juice solely from fresh fruit.
That’s when Salvatore’s three sons, Sam, Mick and Frank Lentini – together with their wives – saw an opportunity to capitalise on this gap in the market by squeezing citrus fruit juice made entirely from 100% fresh fruit. And that’s exactly what they did.
Flash forward to 2022 and it’s still very much a family affair, living and working on the Kulnura farm where the first oranges were picked by Salvatore all those years ago.
And what started in a small fruit shed almost 60 years ago has now spanned three generations and grown to be a household name across Australia.
The reason for the success is in the taste - when you drink Eastcoast Juice, you’re as close to the orchard as you can get. Eastcoast Juices are freshness personified.
Three generations of farmers
Plus, you can sip away confidently knowing there are three generations of farmers who stand behind every single glass.
“We’re one of the only family-owned and operated juice companies left in Australia and we have every intention of keeping it that way,” Samuel J said.
“There’s more to Eastcoast Juice than you might realise. Along with our commitment to creating a great, Aussie made product, we’re also extremely committed to having as light of a footprint as we possibly have on our precious environment.
“Our philosophy is to Return – Regrow – Re-Juice so that absolutely nothing of our product is wasted. Our mission is to be 100% recyclable while remaining 100% committed to our environment and the people in it.”
Adding to the commitment, Eastcoast’s 100% recyclable bottles are ready to be returned and re-used in their next life, while Eastcoast citrus peel is sent to the farming community to be used as a nutritious, alternative cattle feed, full of protein and energy.
It means, every time you sip an Australian made Eastcoast Juice, you are really making a difference.
“There is absolutely zero waste in the manufacturing of our Australian fruit juices. Our washdown water is treated and sent back out to our orchards to replenish and re-juice the trees.” Samuel J said.
“The citrus pulp that we don’t use in our Pulp Free Orange Juice instead provides a zesty and nutritional punch to yogurt and citrus flavored desserts.
“Eastcoast pulp is sent to companies for blending and regenerating to create a new flavor sensation.
“It’s a case of what goes around, comes around again and again,” he quipped.
Samuel J put the success of the business down to its family values and the hard work of “a great team”.
