Page 5 - Food&Drink magazine Feb-Mar 2023

NEWS
New CEO for Maggie Beer
FOLLOWING a global search, Maggie Beer Holdings has appointed Kinda Grange (light) as CEO and managing director.
Grange starts in the role from 1 March, with the business focused on the final stages of its program to transform and strategically reposition then brand, which aimed to capitalise on its position as a leading purveyor of premium food, beverage, and gifting products.
Current CEO and managing director, Chantale Millard, resigned late last year after more than eight years with the company.
Grange most recently held the position of joint managing director Australia at Goodman Fielder, and spent 18 years in several senior leadership roles at the company. She has held the roles of chief growth officer, group head of marketing and R&D ANZ, general manager grocery, and marketing director grocery ANZ. Grange also oversaw the Better Together sustainability initiatives in 2021.
While at Goodman Fielder, Grange had responsibility for e-commerce, digital marketing andproductcategoriesincludingplant-based
foods, spreads and oils, bakery, and dairy. Maggie Beer Holdings chairman Reg Weine
said, “Having most recently led a business with $1.5 billion in revenue across Australia, with twelve manufacturing sites and 1600 employees, Kinda clearly has the strategic, commercial and leadership experience to be able to leverage our leading e-commerce platform and Maggie Beer brandedportfolio.” ✷
Harvest B: an Australian first
✷ TOP HITS
THE MOST VIEWED STORIES ON OUR WEBSITE LAST MONTH
TOP 100 TOPS
THE CHARTS
The Food & Drink Business annual Top 100 Food & Drink Companies report topped website clicks.
KINDA GRANGE JOINS MAGGIE BEER
The joint MD of Goodman Fielder Australia, Kinda Grange, is the new CEO and MD of Maggie Beer Holdings.
✷ SEE LEFT FOR STORY
WOOLIES LOOKS TO PETS Woolworths Group
sold down its share
in Endeavour Group to then buy a 55 per cent stake in Petspiration.
✷ SEEP7
ASAHI SIGNS DEAL WITH ASM GLOBAL
Asahi Lifestyle Beverages has signed a deal to supply soft drink and water to some of the country’s largest entertainment venues.
FOR Harvest B co-founder and CEO Kristi Riordan, the opening of the company’s – and country’s – first plant-based meat ingredients facility marks the first step to address the growing global need to fundamentally change the way we produce food.
“It’s important to recognise that we are simply borrowing the earth from those generations who have come before us, but we’re also borrowing it from the generations that have yet to come. We have an obligation and a responsibility to think about sustainability of the
systems we build here on our planet. Food sustainability is what gets us up and drives us every day,” Riordan said.
Riordan co-founded Harvest B with Alfred Lo, who is also the company’s CCO.
“It makes absolutely no sense that high quality, Australian grown produce is shipped offshore to be processed, only for us to buy it back at higher costs as finished consumer products. It became quickly evident to Harvest B that there was a significant opportunity for this value add to be done in Australia, creating local jobs and greater export
opportunities,” Riordan said.
Years of research have culminated in
LEFT: Marking the launch of Harvest B was (l-r): Co-founder/CCO Alfred Lo, federal industry minister Ed Husic, Co-founder/CEO Kristi Riordan, AMGC MD Jens Goennemann.
a patented processing system and a dry, ambient, shelf-stable plant-based meat with a two-year shelf life. It is also priced lower than conventional animal proteins, Riordan said.
Lo added, “Now food manufacturers have the option to source locally developed products leveraging local inputs that are clean label certified rather than resorting to international suppliers.”
The facility in Sydney’s west will initially manufacture 1000 tonnes of plant-based proteins using Australian- grown grains.
The product is made from wheat and soy, and can delivered in a range of sizes and shapes. Manufacturing customers can then convert the protein to a wet base and create consumer-facing food products.
Riordan said its goal is to initially develop 10 different product lines with substantial export into South-East Asia which is already presenting opportunities. ✷
✷ SEE P6 COOPERS’ $50M
NEW HOME
Construction has started on Coopers Brewery’s new building, which will include a whisky distillery, visitor centre, dedicated tasting room, and interactive history display, and microbrewery.
✷ SEE P6
ENDEAVOUR ROUNDS
THE CAPE Endeavour Group acquired Margaret River winery Cape Mentelle, adding to the premium wine portfolio for its Paragon Wine Estates.
KITKAT’S BREAK WITH PLASTIC Nestlé is running a trial with the four finger KitKat bar being wrapped in plastic.
✷ SEE P6 www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | February/March 2023 | Food&Drink business | 5