Riverland Citrus Stories I Episode 3 - Jeff Knispel from the family kitchen to a national brand
From The Citrus Segment by Citrus SA Inc.
March 9, 2026 · 1h 5m · Season 1 · Episode 3
About this episode
Jeff Knispel discusses the evolution of Nippy’s from a small family operation to a national brand in the citrus industry.
In this episode of Riverland Citrus Stories, Jeff Knispel, Joint Managing Director of Nippy’s, outlines how a small ten-acre mixed fruit property at Moorook in the 1930s evolved into a vertically integrated citrus, juice and dairy business Jeff explains how his father Alic began by growing, packing and wholesaling his own oranges in Adelaide, before industry regulation through the Citrus Board disrupted that model The family responded by building a packing shed at Moorook and, when faced with surplus juice fruit, began squeezing oranges by hand before school each morning to create what would become the Nippy’s juice brand The conversation traces the move into long life processing, the pivot into flavoured dairy products that underpinned business growth, and the expansion into modern citrus packing at Waikerie. Jeff also reflects on food safety lessons and rebuilding the brand following the 1999 salmonella incident, the technical challenges of juice blending, and the ongoing importance of water security, compliance and scale in a changing industry. This special series is hosted on The Citrus Segment, the Citrus SA podcast and has been made possible through funding from the Rex…
People in this episode
Host: Citrus SA
Guest: Jeff Knispel
Topics covered
- citrus industry
- family business
- food safety
- juice production
- brand development
- water security
Keywords
- Nippy’s
- citrus
- juice
- family business
- food safety
- salmonella
- water security
- Moorook
- Adelaide
- Waikerie
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Nippy’s, Citrus SA, Rex Andrew Trust, SA Citrus Improvement Society
Places: Moorook, Adelaide, Waikerie
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- Chair Chat: Season Update, Markets and Fruit Fly Progress · June 2, 2026 · 5 min
- Riverland Citrus Stories | Mike Arnold – A Lifetime in Citrus and Industry Development · April 5, 2026 · 22 min
- Riverland Citrus Stories I Helen Aggelettos – The Venus Citrus Story: Sydney Fish shop to Riverland Fruit Block · March 29, 2026 · 35 min
- Riverland Citrus Stories I Episode 5 - The Yandilla Park Story - recognising Andrew Weigall · March 22, 2026 · 49 min
- Riverland Citrus Stories I Episode 4 - John Plush and more than a century of citrus growing at Winkie · March 15, 2026 · 27 min
- Riverland Citrus Stories | Episode 2 – David Ingerson: Four Generations of Citrus Growth · March 1, 2026 · 48 min
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