Mastermind your strategy & operations

Utilising some of the most experienced ag and food business leaders we can help you reimagine your business

About us

Coles Ag & Food

(CAF Consultants)

The ag and food industry is highly complex – setting a strategy in ag and food requires a highly experienced team with both a local and global focus.

At Coles Ag & Food we have a full complement of ag and food industry experts with years of operational and management expertise from around the globe.

Coles Ag & Food services

From strategy to practical support

Market access

Australia and around the globe

Market landscape and market access studies inform decisions. The global Coles Ag & Food team has the experience and expertise to provide a detailed study that delivers reliable and meaningful information to drive strategy decisions.

Optimise distribution

Targeting volume and margin

Value chain analysis provides a window into profit dilution. Coles Ag & Food knows markets and their myriad complexities. We have first-hand experience in maximising profit through value chain optimisation.

Product positioning

Get locked in and not locked out of the highly fluid retail sector

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) are dynamic by their very nature. Keeping informed of retailer trends and requirements is an essential element of a sustainable product strategy.

Scope 3 Emissions

Manage new regulatory challenges associated with Scope 3 Emissions

Coles Ag & Food specialises in using technology to simplify this maze of competing obligations to achieve full product traceability, both upstream (from your suppliers) and downstream (from your products).

New technology

We find technology and service new technology providers

Artificial Intelligence is here to help. Driven by algorithms, data generates tasks and cost saving outcomes. The ag and food industry is being driven by new technology that can reduce your COGS and numerous other overhead costs. We put providers in touch with customers.

Not-for-profit

Up-scaling revenue for Industry organisations

Our team has a proven track record in maximising value from not-for-profit organisations. Defining and monetising unique member value chain support can produce benefits for members and their organization.

Skills and experience

Meet our TEAM

Donald Coles - Managing Director at Coles Ag & Food

Donald Coles – Dip FM, MBA, GAICD

Managing Director (Australia)

Donald Coles is an experienced CEO and industry leader with more than 35 years’ experience in agriculture and food. He has led R&D plant breeding companies and held several director roles with industry organisations and chaired a national advisory panel. Donald served as President of the International Seed Federation (ISF) and has advised government on gene technology and regulation. He holds an MBA and is a graduate of Marcus Oldham Agricultural College.

Andrew Murchie - Industry expert at Coles Ag & Food

Andrew Murchie – BAgrSc

Industry Expert – (Australia) Crop Protection, Animal Health and Renewable Energy

Andrew Murchie has over 30 years of senior leadership experience across the agriculture, chemical, and energy sectors. He began his career with Monsanto before becoming Managing Director and equity partner at Kelato Animal Health, leading its growth and eventual sale. He later joined TotalEnergies, a French multinational energy major, where he served as Managing Director in Australia, driving expansion in automotive and industrial lubricants and leading initiatives in biofuels and renewable energies until his retirement in 2023. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science majoring in Economics.

Hamish Renton

CEO HRA Global - Europe

Hamish is an experienced board-level director with over 20 years professional and personal experience in the Dairy, FMCG and Retail sectors prior to setting up HRA Global. For over fourteen years, HRA has worked in three focus areas of market insights, strategic consulting and commercial solutions all towards one ultimate goal: to deliver growth through actionable solutions built on real insights and strategies. With experience across producers, manufacturers, suppliers and retailers, HRA can offer a true 360 degree understanding of the whole sector from farm inputs and growers to store shelves and into the hands of consumers.

Elizabeth Coles - Director at Coles Ag & Food

Elizabeth Coles – BA, Post Grad Bus & Exec.

Director (Australia)

Elizabeth Coles is an accomplished director and business executive with leadership experience across agriculture, energy, and retail. Elizabeth is a director of Coles Ag & Food, has served on the board of a family-owned seed company and has held executive roles at Exxon and 7-Eleven Australia. She holds a BA and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business and Executive Studies and manages her family’s cattle farming enterprise.

Kingsley Songer

Industry Expert – (Australia) Horticulture and Retail Distribution

Kingsley Songer has built a distinguished career in fresh produce and agricultural inputs. He served as General Manager at 4Ways Fresh, a leading protected farming operation, and managed production in the citrus and almond sectors. With executive experience in the fuel and gas industry developing export markets, he has also chaired AusVeg South Australia and advised on horticulture investments, leveraging significant accounting and supply chain expertise.

Jeffrey Verpaalen - Industry expert at Coles Ag & Food

Jeffrey Verpaalen, BA Marketing

Industry Expert – (Europe) Ag and Seed industry and associated inputs

Jeffrey brings over 25 years of international leadership experience across the chemical, food, pharmaceutical, and vegetable seed industries. He has held senior roles in Europe, the Americas, and the U.S., with deep expertise in seed operations, agrotechnology, and market strategy. Now based in Europe, he delivers management consulting solutions to global agriculture clients, drawing on his strengths in strategy, sales, and business development.

We have experts in international markets including: UK, Europe, South America, North America and Africa

Proven expertise on a global basis

Profit, Product and Perspective

Coles Ag & Food has a core team of industry experts in all categories of food production including livestock, horticulture, machinery and technology. Large consultancy firms are full of very experienced analysts and consultants, we are a team of very experienced ag and food business leaders.

Profit performance

With detailed understanding of microeconomics we provide expert revenue forecasting for businesses in the ag and food industry. When it comes to expenses, we help with understanding what an expense activity should cost.

Product innovation

Our team has decades of experience in product innovation. From plant and animal breeding to packaging and equipment design. Product innovation is a path to improved margins and sustainability.

Perspective on technical, operational aspects on a global basis

Most of our team have worked in many markets around the globe. While assessing markets for opportunities is an essential first step, we also advise on international trends in most ag and food categories.

Based in Victoria, Australia. Connected globally.