Page 6 - Food&Drink magazine July 2022

NEWS
Asahi invests
$55m in
Qld plant
ASAHI Beverage’s $55 million upgrade of the Wulkuraka manufacturing plant in South-East Queensland means more than
300 million litres of soft drinks, iced tea, waters, and juice will be produced at the site every year.
Schweppes, Solo and Pepsi Max are already made at the site, with Cool Ridge water, Lipton Iced Tea and Pop Tops juice now joining the production line.
Asahi Beverages Group CEO Robert Iervasi said the investment nearly doubled the plant’s annual production capacity, with two new lines, increased sustainability, and more jobs the key achievements. “Perhaps the upgrade’s most exciting part is the new hot-fill and blow-fill line, which will make Lipton Iced Tea and Pop Tops.
“The line’s innovative design means these drinks will be made without preservatives and using bottles inflated on-site from small pieces of preformed plastic. “These are more sustainable than pre-inflated bottles because many more can be delivered to site per truckload – significantly reducing truck trips and carbon emissions,” Iervasi said.
Iervasi said the line will help the beverage manufacturer reach its sustainabilitygoalofreducing Scope 3 carbon emissions across its entire supply chain by 30 per centby2030. ✷
Mars global CEO resigns
MARS CEO Grant Reid (pictured) has resigned after eight years in the role and 34 years with the company. Global president of Mars Petcare, Paul Weihrauch, will be the new CEO and will start in late September.
Mars chair Frank Mars said Reid left an “extraordinary legacy”. “While he is too modest to
admit it, our significant transformation and record growth as a business would not have happened without Grant’s leadership.
“He has been a tower of
strength, helping us charter new courses and pushing us beyond what we thought possible,” Mars said.
Under Reid’s leadership, Mars expanded into veterinary health, pet services, and healthy snacking.
Sales grew more than 50 per cent to almost $65 billion under his tenure, the company said.
Reid said it had been a privilege to lead the company.
“I’m proud that, in the face of challenges such as a global pandemic, we have never lost
sight of our strategic path or our ambition to help create the world we want tomorrow – and to drive both purpose and performance,” he said. ✷
Frew Foods uses grant to expand
MEAT processor Frew Foods will upgrade equipment, expand facilities, and develop export opportunities with a multimillion-dollar grant from the Victorian government.
Frew Foods is one of the country’shighestqualitylamb
processing facilities and a major supplier to Woolworths and Aldi. Located in Stawell, Victoria,
the company is the largest employer for the town with almost 500 staff. Frew processes up to 900,000 sheep a year for domesticandexportmarkets,
including to the US and Canada. The project will almost
double its current lamb production, while equipment upgrades will reduce the company’s processing costs.
A new cold store will be installed to further reduce costs, while a traceability system will track livestock during any potential disease outbreaks.
Thomas Foods International acquired the business in 2020.
The funding came via the state government’s Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund. Since it began in 2015, more than $36 billion has been investment in ruralandregionalVictoria. ✷
Kellogg to split in three
KELLOGG will separate its US, Canadian and Caribbean business into three independent companies of cereals, plant-based, and snacking in a bid to improve performance and maximise their standalone potential.
Its Asia-Pacific region will remain “almost entirely intact”, the company said.
The Global Snacking Co. business will incorporate global snacking and international cereal and noodles. It has a value of around $16.5 billion in net
sales and accounted for about 80 per cent of Kellogg’s net sales in 2021.
North America Cereal Co. will take in the US, Canada
and the Caribbean with a portfolio of Kellogg’s well known cereal brands.
Plant Co. will be a plant- based foods company anchored by the MorningStar Farms brand.
Kellogg’s three international regions – Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA) – will remain almost entirely intact within Global Snacking Co., Kellogg said, with Steve Cahillane remaining chair and CEO of the company. ✷
6 | Food&Drink business | July 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au