Beerenberg is an Australian family-owned food brand and agricultural business best known for strawberry jam, marmalades, chutneys, relishes, sauces, dressings, and other preserves. The company is based at the Beerenberg Family Farm in Hahndorf, South Australia, located in the Adelaide Hills. The business remains owned and operated by the Paech family, whose connection to the property dates back to 1839.[1]

Beerenberg currently reports having more than 100 products and over 150 employees.

The name Beerenberg is derived from German and translates to “Berry Hill.” This designation reflects the brand’s origins in strawberries grown on the Paech family’s hillside farm in the Adelaide Hills and deliberately connects the modern company with the family’s German heritage. The name was registered as a trademark in 1974. It combines Beeren (berries) and Berg (hill/mountain), communicating both place and product.

Although Beerenberg was established as a food brand in the 1970s, the company’s history extends to the early colonial period of South Australia. In 1839, Johann George Paech and his wife, Anna Rosina, migrated from Prussia to South Australia with their five children. They were among the German-speaking settlers who established the community of Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills.[1]

The Paech family has farmed this land for generations. Key milestones in this timeline include:

• 1839: Beginning of the Paech family’s farming history in the area.
• 1969: Strawberries introduced to the farm by Grant and Carol Paech.
• 1971: The Beerenberg food brand is established with strawberry jam.
• 1975: The farm begins its Pick Your Own strawberry experience.

Consequently, Beerenberg operates not merely as a food manufacturer but as a multi-generational farming family that developed a food brand directly from its agricultural operations.[1]

The modern iteration of Beerenberg began with Grant and Carol Paech, who inherited the farm in the late 1960s. In 1969, they diversified the farm’s production by planting strawberries, which Grant initially sold fresh from a small roadside tin shed.

As production eventually exceeded fresh market demand, Grant processed the surplus fruit into strawberry jam to prevent waste. According to company records, the first jam was made in 1971 using a traditional cooking pan associated with the family. The product’s success necessitated a brand name, leading Grant to choose Beerenberg, meaning “Berry Hill.” This origin distinguishes the brand as one that emerged from a genuine agricultural surplus problem rather than conventional packaged-food manufacturing.[1]

Beerenberg’s evolution from a strawberry farm to a comprehensive food company occurred in several distinct stages:

1969 — Strawberries

Grant and Carol Paech plant strawberries as a new commercial crop.

1971 — Strawberry jam

Surplus strawberries are transformed into jam, creating the Beerenberg brand.

1975 — Pick Your Own

The Paechs introduce a Pick Your Own strawberries concept, establishing the farm as a visitor attraction alongside its agricultural business.

1980 — Factory and shop

A purpose-built shop and factory are constructed on the property.

1986 — Qantas

Beerenberg jam begins being served to Qantas first-class passengers, marking a significant step in establishing the brand beyond South Australia. This initiated a long-running partnership between the airline and the farm.

1999 — Next generation

Grant and Carol transfer operational responsibility to their children. Robert Paech becomes Farm Manager and Anthony Paech becomes Managing Director.

2000s — Expansion

The company expands its portfolio beyond traditional jams to include condiments, sauces, dressings, and other products, positioning Beerenberg as a broader pantry brand.

2013 — Major rebrand

Beerenberg introduces a packaging redesign emphasizing quality, authenticity, family, and provenance.

2018 — Manufacturing expansion

A major office, warehouse, and factory development is completed.

2022 — Visitor experience

A new visitor experience opens, incorporating a farm café, ice cream, cooking demonstrations, tastings, a farm shop, and private-event facilities.

2026 — 40 years with Qantas

Beerenberg and Qantas mark 40 years of partnership, including the release of a special edition jam for airline service.

While strawberry jam remains the flagship product, Beerenberg has evolved into a diverse food brand. Its current range includes:

• Fruit jams
• Marmalades
• Chutneys
• Relishes
• Tomato sauces
• Cooking sauces
• Salad dressings
• Mustards
• Meal bases
• Dessert toppings
• Other preserves and condiments

Strawberry Jam is cited as the company’s best-selling item, with Caramelised Onion described as the second-best-selling product. The strawberry jam holds particular significance as it represents the company’s foundational narrative: strawberries leading to surplus fruit, which led to homemade jam, which created the Beerenberg brand.

A central proposition of the Beerenberg brand is its status as a working farm producing real food, distinguishing it from companies that solely source commodities. The company grows its own produce and manufactures many products on-site. Where climate or agricultural limitations prevent on-farm cultivation, ingredients are sourced from Australian growers. Specific sourcing practices include:

• Strawberries grown on the Beerenberg farm.
• Plums grown in the farm’s orchard.
• Vegetables and fruits sourced from other Australian growing regions.
• Honey sourced from Australian beekeepers.

This approach supports a “farm to kitchen to jar” narrative integral to the brand’s identity.

Beerenberg positions itself as an Australian-made and Australian-owned company. The farm is located in Hahndorf, approximately 25 km from Adelaide in the Adelaide Hills, and the company maintains that its products are manufactured on-site and that ownership remains 100% within the family.[1]

The brand’s identity synthesizes German-European heritage with South Australian history and contemporary Australian positioning. The Paech family’s German roots are preserved through the name Beerenberg and the history of Hahndorf, while the company’s current market presence is distinctly Australian.

Packaging serves as a primary vehicle for Beerenberg’s brand identity. Jars typically feature a traditional, premium aesthetic highlighting the Beerenberg name, Australian provenance, family heritage, illustrations, and stories. A distinctive feature is the inclusion of real family members, employees, and friends in product storytelling. By featuring actual people associated with the company rather than anonymous models, the packaging reinforces the family-business positioning and communicates that there are real individuals behind the product.

Beerenberg identifies several core values in its corporate philosophy:

Authenticity

The company emphasizes its status as a genuine farm using Australian ingredients, associating authenticity with honesty, practicality, trustworthiness, and groundedness.

Passion

Farming and food production are framed as a way of life rather than mere employment.

Commitment to excellence

The brand prioritizes product quality, ingredient selection, craftsmanship, attention to detail, and continual improvement.

One team

Employees are presented as part of an extended family, emphasizing collaboration and a supportive workplace culture.

Collectively, these values support the brand proposition of combining homemade character with commercial scale, family ownership, and Australian provenance.

Unlike many major Australian food brands, the owning family behind Beerenberg remains highly visible. The current generation includes:

• Anthony Paech: Managing Director
• Robert Paech: Farm Director/Manager
• Sally Paech: Marketing Director
• Carol Paech: Director/Financial Controller

These individuals represent the continuation of the Paech family’s farming tradition.[1] Grant Paech, who co-founded the modern business with Carol, passed away in 2015. The company leverages this family continuity as a central competitive asset.

Beerenberg Family Farm functions as a significant tourist destination in addition to being a food producer. Visitors can engage in seasonal strawberry picking, visit the farm shop, participate in product tastings, dine at the farm café, watch cooking demonstrations, purchase farm-made ice cream, and host private events. The Pick Your Own strawberry experience has operated since 1975, making it a historic component of the business.[1] This physical accessibility allows consumers to visit the exact location where the brand originates, enhancing brand storytelling.

Beerenberg products are distributed throughout Australia via major supermarket chains, independent grocers, and specialty retailers. The company also supplies portion-controlled products to the hotel, airline, and cruise industries.

Internationally, Beerenberg has exported products since 1985. Markets supplied include Japan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, India, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Fiji, Mauritius, Maldives, and Brunei.[1] While the specific number of export markets varies across historical materials, the company maintains a significant Asia-Pacific export business. Notably, portion products are used in more than 300 four- and five-star hotels across the Asia-Pacific region.

The partnership with Qantas is a defining chapter in Beerenberg’s history. In 1986, Grant Paech learned that Qantas was serving imported jam to first-class passengers. After contacting the airline, Beerenberg began supplying its jam for Qantas service. This relationship symbolized the brand’s transition from a local Adelaide Hills farm operation to an internationally recognized Australian food brand. In 2026, the two entities celebrated four decades of partnership with a special 40-year edition of Beerenberg jam.

Production combines fresh produce, Australian ingredients, and traditional craftsmanship. Jam production utilizes fruit and sugar, with pectin added when necessary and food acid used to balance acidity. The company states it does not use artificial colours or preservatives in its jams. A substantial manufacturing facility located on the family property allows farming and manufacturing operations to coexist at the same site.

Beerenberg’s sustainability philosophy is summarized by the phrase “Farm. Family. Forever,” reflecting the view that environmental stewardship is necessary to maintain farm productivity for future generations. Stated initiatives include:

• Harvesting and conserving rainwater.
• Using collected rainwater in manufacturing.
• Utilizing recycled-material retail packaging.
• Using recyclable glass jars, lids, and cartons.
• Generating solar power.

The company reports that 10% of water used in manufacturing comes from collected rainwater, while 21% of electricity is derived from solar power.

The company established the Beerenberg Foundation to conserve and celebrate the cultural, built, and natural heritage of Hahndorf. This initiative aligns with the philosophy that the brand’s identity is inseparable from its geographic location, reinforcing the position that the food, family, and identity of Beerenberg originate specifically from this region of South Australia.

From a branding perspective, Beerenberg possesses several unusual characteristics:

1. Dual identity: It operates as both a genuine working farm and a commercial food brand.
2. Family continuity: The Paech family has been associated with the property since 1839, and the modern company remains family-owned.
3. Simple origin story: The flagship product emerged directly from agricultural surplus management.
4. Place-based identity: Hahndorf and the Adelaide Hills are integral to the brand, not just an address.
5. Humanized packaging: Featuring real family members and staff personalizes the product.
6. Hybrid distribution: The brand maintains premium positioning while achieving mass distribution in supermarkets like Woolworths and Coles, alongside supply contracts with premium hotels and airlines.

Beerenberg operates as a heritage-premium FMCG brand built around agricultural provenance. In the Australian food market, it occupies a space between mass-market supermarket condiments and small-scale artisanal preserves. Its primary differentiation is not simply Australian manufacturing, but rather the connection to a specific family farm, history, and place.

Beerenberg began with the Paech family’s settlement and farming in Hahndorf in 1839. More than a century later, Grant and Carol Paech planted strawberries on the family farm in 1969. When they had surplus strawberries, Grant began making jam, and in 1971 he named the resulting brand Beerenberg—German for “Berry Hill.” What started as a small farm-based jam business evolved into a major Australian producer of jams, chutneys, relishes, sauces, and dressings, while remaining family-owned. Today, the sixth generation continues the family business from the Adelaide Hills, combining farming, food manufacturing, retail, exports, and tourism under the Beerenberg name.[1]

• 1839: Paech family settles in South Australia.
• 1969: Grant and Carol Paech plant strawberries.
• 1971: First Beerenberg strawberry jam; brand name established.
• 1974: Beerenberg name registered as a trademark.
• 1975: Pick Your Own strawberries begins.
• 1980: New shop and factory constructed.
• 1985: Exporting begins.
• 1986: Qantas relationship begins.
• 1999: Business passes to the next generation.
• 2000s: Expansion into sauces, condiments, and dressings.
• 2013: Major packaging/brand redesign.
• 2018: Major factory/warehouse/office expansion.
• 2022: New visitor experience, café, and farm facilities.
• 2026: 40th anniversary of the Beerenberg–Qantas partnership.[1]

1. Our History | Beerenberg Family Farm Hahndorf, Adelaide Hills – Beerenberg Farm