Leggo’s is an Australian food brand best known for tomato paste, pasta sauces, tomato-based cooking products, and Italian-inspired foods. Established in 1882, the brand is closely associated with Australian home cooking, particularly dishes such as spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, and pizza. Today, Leggo’s is owned by Simplot Australia, a subsidiary of the privately held international food and agriculture company The J.R. Simplot Company. Simplot acquired the brand in 1995 as part of its expansion into the Australian food market.

Origins: 1882

The history of Leggo’s dates back to 1882, when 13-year-old Henry Leggo began selling his mother’s freshly bottled tomato sauce to miners on the Australian goldfields. This small-scale enterprise eventually grew into one of Australia’s most recognised tomato product brands [1]. Unlike many international food brands, Leggo’s did not originate in Italy; rather, it developed as an Australian brand that became strongly associated with Italian cuisine over time.

Over more than a century, the product range expanded beyond the original tomato sauce to include tomato paste, pasta sauces, and other items designed for everyday cooking.

Development into an Australian pantry staple

As Australian food culture evolved, tomato products became increasingly central to household cooking. Leggo’s developed strong associations with recipes including:

• Spaghetti bolognese
• Lasagne
• Pizza
• Pasta dishes
• Soups
• Casseroles
• Curries
• Other tomato-based meals

Tomato expertise became a defining element of the brand’s identity. Leggo’s currently describes itself as Australia’s favourite tomato paste brand and highlights its history spanning more than 100 years [1].

Acquisition by Simplot — 1995

A significant milestone occurred in 1995 when The J.R. Simplot Company entered the Australian market by acquiring a portfolio of established local food brands. The acquisition included Leggo’s, Birds Eye, Edgell, Chiko, Harvest, and several others, forming what is now Simplot Australia. Despite becoming part of a multinational corporation, Leggo’s has retained its distinct brand identity and Australian heritage.

Leggo’s is currently part of Simplot Australia, which manages the Australian and New Zealand food operations of The J.R. Simplot Company. The parent company’s portfolio also includes brands such as Birds Eye, Edgell, John West, I&J, and Chiko.

The J.R. Simplot Company was founded in 1929 when J.R. Simplot established a farming operation in Boise, Idaho, before growing into a multinational food and agricultural business. The ownership structure is as follows:

Leggo’s → Simplot Australia → The J.R. Simplot Company

A key characteristic of the modern Leggo’s brand is its continued connection to Australian manufacturing. The company states that its sauces and tomato pastes are produced in Echuca, Victoria, maintaining a manufacturing presence in the country since its beginnings in Bendigo in 1882 [1].

The Echuca facility is central to the brand’s tomato product line. Leggo’s indicates that its Australian-grown tomato paste is processed and packed in Echuca using tomatoes sourced from farmers in Northern Victoria and Southern New South Wales, located near the manufacturing site. This supply chain supports the brand’s positioning around Australian tomatoes, farmers, manufacturing, and consumers.

While tomato paste remains the product most strongly linked to Leggo’s, the brand offers a broader portfolio.

Tomato paste

Tomato paste is a signature product for Leggo’s, available in various formats and sizes including jars and squeeze bottles. The 500 g variety, for example, is described as a concentrated tomato product suitable for pizzas, pasta sauces, soups, casseroles, and curries. Leggo’s states this product is manufactured in Echuca using Australian-grown tomatoes [1].

Pasta sauces

Leggo’s produces a range of ready-to-use pasta sauces, enabling consumers to prepare Italian-inspired meals without making sauce from scratch. This category bridges the brand’s historic tomato expertise with contemporary convenience expectations.

Other tomato and cooking products

The wider product range has historically included:

• Tomato sauces
• Pasta sauces
• Tomato-based cooking sauces
• Tomato paste
• Italian-inspired meal ingredients
• Cooking products designed for pasta and other dishes

The specific product availability may vary over time and between markets.

Australian identity and Italian inspiration

Leggo’s combines Australian identity with Italian culinary inspiration. Rather than marketing itself solely as an Italian brand, it presents Italian food through an Australian lens, acknowledging that local consumers adapt recipes to their own preferences.

In 2023, Simplot launched the “It’s How We Do Italian” campaign, which celebrates the distinct ways Australians interpret Italian cuisine. This positioning frames the brand as offering Italian-inspired food made the Australian way, occupying a space between traditional Italian authenticity and Australian everyday cooking.

Core brand characteristics

The brand identity is built on several pillars:

1. Heritage: The 1882 founding date provides significant credibility as one of Australia’s longest-standing packaged food brands.
2. Tomato expertise: Identity is centred on specialised knowledge of tomato products rather than generic sauce manufacturing.
3. Australian authenticity: Emphasis is placed on Australian origins, manufacturing, and farmer relationships [1].
4. Italian-inspired cooking: Strong association with Italian-style food, particularly pasta, despite Australian origins.
5. Family cooking: Positioning focuses on everyday home meals and household grocery shopping.

Slogan

The masterbrand slogan “It’s How We Do Italian”, introduced in 2023, reinforces the message that Australians do not strictly follow traditional Italian cooking rules but instead adapt them to suit local tastes. This approach maintains cultural relevance in Australia while preserving the brand’s association with Italian cuisine.

Australian sourcing

Leggo’s emphasises the use of locally grown ingredients, stating it follows an Australia-first sourcing policy for its tomato paste [1]. Simplot has confirmed that the tomatoes used are grown by farmers in Northern Victoria and Southern NSW. This sourcing strategy links the products directly to Australian agriculture rather than positioning them as imported Italian-style goods.

Community involvement

The brand and its parent company highlight relationships with farmers and local communities as part of their corporate values. According to Leggo’s, more than one million bottles of its products have been donated to Foodbank Australia since 2011 [1]. Simplot Australia also emphasises responsible resource use and support for Australian growers.

Leggo’s is closely connected to the domestication of Italian cuisine in Australia. While Italian food gained popularity through migration and changing food cultures, dishes like spaghetti bolognese developed distinctly Australian interpretations. For many consumers, Leggo’s products are associated with familiar household meal preparation rather than restaurant-style dining.

This cultural position can be summarised as Italian culinary influence combined with Australian ingredients, manufacturing, and everyday family cooking. Consequently, Leggo’s is viewed as an example of Australian food culture adapting international cuisine rather than as a traditional Italian producer.

Leggo’s is positioned as a long-established Australian brand specialising in products for Italian-inspired home cooking. Its primary brand associations include:

• 🇦🇺 Australian heritage
• 🍅 Tomato expertise
• 🇮🇹 Italian-inspired cooking
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family meals
• 🌾 Australian-grown produce
• 🏭 Australian manufacturing
• 🕰️ More than 140 years of history

The brand states it has been Australian-made with quality ingredients for over 130 years; given its 1882 origin, its history now extends to more than 140 years as of 2026 [1].

1. Our Australian Story | Leggo’s