Page 6 - Food&Drink Magazine October 2018

NEWS
Kirin
considers
sale of Lion
JAPANESE beverage giant Kirin Holdings is mulling over the sale of its Australian business Lion Dairy and Drinks.
The company has begun a strategic review of the business unit as part of a broader review of its business portfolio.
The sale of Lion is just one of the possibilities, the company says, along with retaining the company and making further investment into the business.
“It is appropriate at this point in time to consider the best pathway forward to maximise its sustainable growth potential for the future,” Kirin said in a statement.
Lion’s brands include a number of high profile beers including XXXX, Tooheys, as well as a number of craft beer brands including James Squire, Little Creatures and White Rabbit.
Lion launched a new beer brand called Iron Jack (pictured) in September last year, and has described the launch as Australia’s biggest in the beer category of the last decade after seeing record-breaking volumes.
Lion’s juice brands include Berri and Daily Juice, and its dairy and dairy alternatives brands include Pura, Dairy Farmers and Vitasoy.
Kirin’s business portfolio includes alcohol, beverages, food and pharmaceutics, and last year it sold its Brazilian beer business to Heineken.
Lion is one of the largest beverage companies in Australia, last year dropping from third to fourth position in the Top 100 Australian Food & Drink Companies 2017 report, which is published by Food & Drink Business in collaboration with IBISWorld. ✷
Coca-Cola buys MOJO kombucha
THE Coca-Cola Company has acquired Organic & Raw Trading Co, an Aussie kombucha company that has helped to drive the success of the fermented tea market with its MOJO brand of beverages.
Coca-Cola bought the company, which is a pioneer and fast mover in the kombucha category, for an undisclosed sum.
The Adelaide company, which was founded in 2010, now sells its MOJO beverage range at Woolworths and IGA.
Kombucha is the fastest- growing beverage category in Australia, according to Coca-Cola, and this is the first time Coca-Cola has acquired full ownership of a brand in the category. Rival beverage giant Lion invested in another leading kombucha brand Remedy earlier this year.
“In just over eight years, Organic & Raw has gone from selling MOJO at a local farmers’ market to producing one of Australia’s leading organic kombucha brands,” Coca-Cola Australia president Vamsi Mohan said.
“Our goal is to bring MOJO to more Australians by making it available in more places across the country. Consumers will be able to see the same great MOJO products on more store shelves.”
Anthony Crabb, co-founder and CEO of Organic & Raw, and sales and marketing director Andrew Buttery, will remain in their current roles.
“When we started out, we couldn’t have imagined the incredible growth and consumer demand we see today,” Crabb said.
“As we continued to innovate, we soon realised that for us to take the business to the next level and provide probiotic beverages to even more people, we needed to find the right strategic partner. We found this partner in Coca-Cola.” ✷
Simplot carves off Top Cut Foods
SIMPLOT is exiting the meat business following a lengthy strategic review that will result in a management buy-out of Top Cut Foods.
Top Cut Foods is a full service
specialist butcher and was founded in 1981 and acquired by Simplot in 2011.
Simplot, which also recently exited the frozen meals business, says the review had
“clarified the factors required for Top Cut Foods’ ongoing success”. The transition will take place over the coming months. Rob Aston is the new owner of Australia, Japan and
South Korea and Michael Lin of operations in China.
“Top Cut is a unique
and specialised business
that is quite different from Simplot Australia’s core capabilities,” Simplot Australia managing director Graham Dugdale said.
“However, Top Cut’s management has outstanding industry knowledge, capabilities and experience to ensure
Top Cut’s future success.” ✷
SPC sells jam and sauce brands
A newly formed company Kyabram Conserves is to become the new owner of the IXL jam and Taylor’s marinade and sauces following their sale by Coca-Cola Amatil’s fruit and veggie processor SPC.
Kyabram Conserves is backed by Sydney-based fund and asset manager, Millinium Capital Managers.
The IXL and Taylor’s products will be processed locally at the existing manufacturing site in Kyabram, in Victoria’s Goulburn
Valley, and all 50 employees will be retained.
In 2004, SPC forked out $51 million for IXL and Taylor’s which was at the time owned by US company JM Smucker Co,
which had fifteen years prior bought the brands from
Elders IXL.
CCA had previously announced its intention to sell the brands in January, pointing to falling sales as consumers opted for less sugary breakfasts. ✷
6 | Food&Drink business | October 2018 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au