Our History
From a family vision in 1981 to one of Australia’s most trusted importers and distributors of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food products.
1981Founded
A family vision becomes a business
Mr Huseyin & Mrs Gülşen Kaya entered the food industry by bringing speciality food products to Australia and selling them in record time. Responding to the untapped demand in the marketplace, a business was born.
1984
First warehouse — Overseas Imports and Exports
Basfoods moved to its first warehouse of 300 square metres on Victoria Street Brunswick under the name Overseas Imports and Exports. Mr Kaya and his son Oljay Kaya worked together to grow the product range and customer base.
1997Basfoods is born
A new home and a new name
With strong growth over the preceding decade, the company purchased land at 423 Victoria Street Brunswick. With this move came a new business name — Basfoods. An increased range and continued focus on customer needs meant that over the following year turnover doubled.
1998
Pasha Yoghurt launched
Basfoods launched the Pasha Yoghurt brand. Pasha Yoghurt is the most recognised brand amongst Middle Eastern and Turkish customers.
1999
Royal Fields label launched
Basfoods launched its Royal Fields label. Royal Fields quickly became known for its high quality.
2008Major expansion
Basfoods Direct and 7,000sqm of facilities
Construction at 419 Victoria Street was completed and the Basfoods Direct business was born. Basfoods now had two large facilities totalling almost 7,000 square metres side by side to service its growing wholesale and retail customer base locally and interstate. Basfoods Direct Somerton Store was also opened in 2008, expanding to cater to the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne.
2009
Sydney office and warehouse opened
Basfoods set up an office and warehouse in Sydney and invested in a local sales team to service its route trade and supermarket customers.
2012
Coles, Woolworths and national expansion
Basfoods began supplying to national retailers Coles and Woolworths as well as expanding its services to various wholesale and retail outlets in South Australia and Western Australia.
2018
Third generation joins the business
Mr Bertan Kaya (grandson of Mr Huseyin Kaya) takes over as the Store Manager of the Brunswick retail store. This begins a new chapter in Basfoods with three generations of Kaya in the business.
2020
Continued growth and commitment
Basfoods continues to grow based on a solid philosophy of working closely with suppliers from around the world, supplying quality products, bringing new and exciting ranges to the Australian market, maintaining value for money pricing, and continuing its famous customer service.
202140 years
Basfoods International celebrates 40 years in business
Four decades of family ownership, growth, and dedication to bringing the world’s finest flavours to Australian shelves and tables.
45+Years in business
3Generations of family
7,000m²Of warehouse space
NationalDistribution reach