Page 62 - Food & Drink Magazine Nov-Dec 2018

YEAR IN REVIEW
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SEPTEMBER 2018
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ZUMBO CALLS IN THE ADMINISTRATORS
Adriano Zumbo’s patisserie business entered into voluntary administration with the company struggling under the weight of significant debt.
Zumbo operates eight stores across Melbourne and Sydney, and the businesses are reportedly facing debts of up to $10 million.
Three of Zumbo's dessert companies entered voluntary administration, with administrator DW Advisory appointed.
Two of the companies operate eight Zumbo confectionery and pastry shops, and the third was operating behind a tea room that reportedly shut down a year ago.
SIMPLOT CUTS TIES WITH TOP CUT FOODS
Simplot hived off its meat business Top Cut Foods following a lengthy strategic review that resulted in a management buy-out.
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”. Simplot Australia managing director Graham Dugdale said that Top Cut is a unique and specialised business that is quite different from Simplot Australia’s core capabilities.
CCA CONSIDERS SPC SALE
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) began a strategic review of its fruit business SPC saying it is ‘exploring new options’ including a change in ownership, alliances or mergers.
SPC is Australia’s largest packaged fruit and vegetables processor, and the news came at the completion of a four-year, $100 million co-investment in SPC with the Victorian Government.
CCA has invested around $250 million of capital in the business overall since acquiring SPC in 2005, but this failed to translate into profits for the fruit processor, which according to CCA’s results announcement, booked a loss of $1.7 million in the half year to June 29.
CCA engaged consultancy Kidder Williams to assist with the strategic review, which will not impact the ongoing sale process of the Taylors and IXL brands, which was announced by SPC earlier in the year.
ARNOTT'S UP FOR SALE
Campbell Soup announced plans to sell off a number of business units including Aussie icon Arnott's biscuits.
The company will sell its fresh food and international units, of which Arnott's is a part, along with manufacturing operations in Indonesia and Malaysia and businesses in Hong Kong and Japan.
Arnott's was founded 150 years ago in Newcastle, NSW, and its products span the sweet and savoury biscuit and crispbread categories.
Campbell Soup took a stake in Arnott's in the 1980s, and then took
full control in 1997. The company said the
sell-off will enable it to focus on its core portfolio
of soup, simple meals and snacks.
✷ SEPTEMBER
STRAWBERRY CRISIS HITS INDUSTRY
As the strawberry
sewing needle contamination crisis continued to unfold, strawberry farmers scouted out tech solutions.
One Glass House Mountains farmer reportedly invested $30,000 in equipment to get his fruit back on supermarket shelves.
Prior to the contamination crisis, few if any strawberry packing lines had metal detectors, or any system for seeing foreign objects in punnets.
However, the effectiveness of metal detectors is limited to the start of the supply chain. Longer terms solutions could include a covering barrier, a tamper evident seal, and hardened plastic to make it more difficult to discretely insert foreign objects into the strawberries.
FONTERRA TAKES FIRST ANNUAL LOSS HIT Fonterra announced a $NZ196 million loss, the first in its seventeen-year history, thanks largely to its partnership with Chinese company Beingmate and a whey protein legal settlement.
Last year Fonterra posted an $NZ745 million profit, but in March announced a half year loss after writing down the Beingmate investment and
paying off its legal settlement with French yoghurt maker Danone over the whey protein recall four years ago.
The company outlined an action plan that involves re-evaluating all investments, major assets and partnerships; lifting its financial discipline to reduce debt and improve return on capital; and using more realistic forecasts.
JAPAN'S KIRIN PUTS LDD ON THE MARKET
Japanese beverage giant Kirin Holdings announced the sale of the dairy and drinks division of its Australian business Lion.
The company began a strategic review of the business as part of a broader review
of its own portfolio. Kirin will retain Lion
alcohol business which includes a number of high
profile beer brands
including XXXX, Tooheys, and James
Squire. Lion Dairy and Drinks (LDD) brands
include Berri and Daily Juice, and dairy and dairy
alternatives brands Pura, Vitasoy and Dairy Farmers.
Kirin told the market the sale of LDD will not impact Lion’s alcohol businesses in Australia and New Zealand.
The Japanese beverage giant had previously said a sale of Lion was just one of the possibilities along with retaining the company and investing in it.
COCA-COLA MOVES INTO KOMBUCHA
The Coca-Cola Company has acquired Organic & Raw Trading Co, an Aussie kombucha company that has helped drive the success
of the fermented tea market with its MOJO brand. The Adelaide company, a pioneer in the kombucha category which was founded in 2010, now sells its MOJO beverage range at Woolworths and IGA.
Coca-Cola bought the company for an undisclosed sum and it is the first time Coca-Cola has acquired full ownership of a brand in the category.
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