In 1969, as a young medical student on holiday with his father in Turkey, Nicholas Avramides had no idea he would one day own Australia’s premiere gourmet food company.

 

He and his father were touring the Grand Bazaar in Damascus. Nicholas was fascinated with the process and care with which the local vendors made fresh coffee. He’d seen nothing like it anywhere else.

When his father asked him what gift he’d like to take home, Nicholas chose a 16th century walnut-timber mortar and pestle. The locals crushed their coffee beans in timber, rather than stone, mortar and pestles, as timber gave off less heat and created better quality coffee grounds.

When Nicholas returned to Australia he finished his medical studies. But in 1973, after much analysis and negotiation with banks, as well as support from his father, he bought the 17 year-old Santos food company, from its founder’s widow.

From day one as owner, his mission was to bring the highest quality coffee and fresh snack foods to Australian consumers. Now 60 years since it was founded, Santos is the longest established continuous coffee roaster in the country. It supplies consumers, corporates and food distributors with the finest quality coffee beans, specialist blends, nuts, cereals and dried fruits.

Nicholas remains actively involved in the business, particularly the quality control. He also travels the planet to source premium foods direct from growers. Santos has a policy of Australian-grown first, but if the food cannot be grown in Australia, it is sourced from the best producers in the world.

Santos is a rare success, as it is still a family-owned and run business. Unlike many other companies that have sold out to multi-nationals, Santos remains true to its original values of supplying only the highest quality gourmet foods, supported by outstanding customer service.

The company has a strong reputation for integrity, and enjoys excellent relationships with both customers and suppliers. It roasts coffee, nuts & granolas as well as processing all other products at its 5-acre manufacturing facility and head office in Riverwood Sydney.

quality control

Santos sources only the finest and freshest ingredients across our complete product range. This ensures consistent quality in every product, so you can be confident of the premium quality of everything you purchase.

This ‘quality at-all-costs’ orientation cascades down from farm to cup and plate. The Santos management team made a conscious decision to never grow at a rate where quality would become a casualty of growth. To give you the best experience and premium products, we consider quality the highest form of value.