Manuel Meletis

CEO & Co-Owner

Manny started at Daily Fresh in 1986 as his second job driving deliveries and he never really left. He then moved as the Dispatch manager, then ops manager and then owner. He bought the business in 1993 and has been building it ever since.

Being Greek means that all social and family events always revolve around food. Food brings people together and although it is commercialised in the business world he has always loved seeing the passion and ideas that constantly change the hospitality industry and its ability to withstand financial, geopolitical and act of God events and still bounce back with a sense of community at its core.

Trained as a mechanical engineer, his instinct is always the same: find what’s not working and fix it properly. He’s taken Daily Fresh Food Service from paper-based operations to voice-picked warehouses and real-time driver technology. And he is still asking what’s next. We know Manny for his sense of humour and his Greek heritage but above that he is knowledgeable, helpful and always there to collaborate.

“The food industry never sits still. Neither do I”

Shaun Coutman

Sales & Marketing Director

22 years in the industry. Started in IT at Mars Foods, moved into sales and kept moving. By the time he arrived at Plateau Foods in 2015, he’d managed field teams, national accounts, and full channel strategies. Within two years at Plateau Foods, he’d bought in.

Shaun now runs sales and marketing, but what he’s really doing is making sure the team and the customers both feel good about what we do daily. That’s his measure of a good day. Honest, calm and direct, Shaun is the kind of person you want in the room when something needs to be sorted.

To Shaun the merger with Daily Fresh is built on common beliefs, similar culture and an agreed purpose. Bigger is better as long as you stay true to why you’re doing it in the first place.

Off the clock, Shaun loves solo triathlon training, and we see that translate through to the business, he does the hard work when no one is ever really watching.

“If the customer doesn’t value good service, maybe we’re not the right fit for them. And that’s ok”

Antonio Cerqueira

Director & Partner

Antonio founded Oporto. Which means before he was ever a distributor, he was the customer. Building a food brand, scaling it nationally and depending on a supply chain to hold it all together. He knows exactly what’s at stake when a distributor drops the ball.

He joined Daily Fresh Food Service as a partner in 2007 and has been part of growing the business ever since. Post-merger, he’s focused on what he’s always been good at spotting where the business can go next and helping it get there.

“Building Oporto taught me what operators actually need. You don’t forget that!”

Julie

Director & Partner

Julie started at Plateau Foods in 1994 as a uni student doing part-time maternity cover. Her father’s transport company was a client. Day one was paper shredding. She went home and said she wasn’t going back.

She went back. Spent twenty months helping the business implement its first IT systems before heading overseas for three and a half years. When she returned, her father had bought the company. “Just three months to iron out some IT issues,” he told her. Famous last words. That was 1999.

Julie was then General Manager by 2005. Managing Director and shareholder by 2016. When Plateau merged with Daily Fresh Food Service in 2025, she brought 25 years of the business with her.

Today she runs operations across the combined business. People come to her when they need a straight answer and a second set of eyes. She also gets all the HR problems. Off the clock she’s happiest on water or a ski slope.

How people see Julie is strong, inspirational, and structured!

“A good day is deliveries in full, on time, and everyone going home safely.”