65 years of freshness: the story behind our family business

Giglio’s Fresh Chickens was founded on traditional family values and a dedication to excellence that still continues today.

In 1952, 19-year-old Arturo Giglio arrived in Australia, leaving behind the famine and depression in his native Italy. Young Arturo was driven to make a new life for himself and his family, spending three years cutting sugar cane in North Queensland. Arturo spoke no English, and found the extreme heat and long hours difficult, but he persevered, spurred on by his goal of saving money for a better life.

When he returned to Sydney, Arturo had enough money to buy a parcel of land in western Sydney’s Bonnyrigg area, which is still the site of Giglio’s Fresh Chickens today.

Arturo and his wife Giuseppa started their family business as poultry farmers and market growers and by 1965, they were processing 20 chickens by hand each day. But with 20,000 laying birds needing to be fed, and having to collect their eggs and send them to what was then the NSW Egg Board, the poultry processing represented just a small part of the business.

Later, aged 53, Arturo was forced to retire due to his failing health, but in 1987, his son Joe Giglio stepped up to continue the family business, phasing out egg production in favour of poultry processing.

Now, some 29 years on, we are still a proudly Australian owned and family-run business with a close-knit dedicated staff. And we are privileged to supply the local market with our fresh poultry and value added products.