Back in 1996, preceding the chaotic de-regulation of the South African industry, a fruit company was started in a converted neighborhood garage in Cape Town. Over the next 5 years Lona grew quickly, expanding not only in vegetables, citrus, deciduous and exotic fruits, but also into tea, wine and dried fruits. A turning point in the development of the group came with the decision in 2004 to specialize in citrus, while at the same time divesting from all other fruit types. Successful investments have been made in primary citrus cultivation, packhouse and coldstores, new cultivar development, and most importantly, valuable and long lasting relationships with key stakeholders at both farm and market levels. Lona sources fruit from farms in the Western and Eatern Cape, Kwazulu Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Zimbabwe. The group will pack and sell approximately 4 million cartons of citrus in 2009, into 40 key markets around the world. Lona is staffed by a passionate and dedicated group of young people, strongly representative of the demographics of the Western Cape, where the company remains based to this day.