Page 5 - Food & Drink Magazine April 2021

New supply chain head for Mars Wrigley
MARS Wrigley Australia has appointed Chris Georgiou as its supply chain director. The company said Georgiou will drive the company’s supply chain transformation and its commitment to Australian manufacturing.
Mars Wrigley general manager Andrew Leakey
said Georgiou has been
brought in to
“strategically and
operationally advance
Mars Wrigley towards a
more customer focused,
and enterprise
orientated mind set as
well as develop a more integrated and agile supply chain”.
Georgiou has more than a decade of experience as a retail supply chain leader across FMCG and hospitality sectors. Most recently he was general manager supply at Grill’d. Prior to that he was head of supply chain fresh for Coles Supermarkets.
Leakey said: “Chris’ energy, resilience and strategic capability, coupled with his hands-on operational experience, make him a strong fit to lead our supply chain function.”
Georgiou said he was looking forward to shaping the future of thetreatsandsnacksbusiness. ✷
NEWS
Cracker of a deal
MONDELEZ International has acquired Australian premium cracker manufacturer Gourmet Food Holdings for more than $400 million.
The global FMCG giant said it gives the company an entry into a whole new snacking market in the health and wellness space.
Gourmet Food Holdings co-founder and CEO Todd Wilson told Food & Drink Business it was a great result for the founders and shareholders. “We’re very pleased and the business is going to be in good hands.
“Mondelēz is going to run Gourmet Food as an independent business, which is the correct decision at this time,” Wilson said.
The current COO Oliver Flint has been announced as the business’ new managing director, Wilson will stay on in an advisory role.
“Five years ago, we manufactured our first batch of premium-style crackers, and since then we’ve grown rapidly, becoming leaders across several categories and channels,” said Wilson.
Its main brands are OB Finest, Olina’s Bakehouse and Crispbic. The company’s pre-packaged seafood business including the Ocean Blue brand is also part of the sale.
“We’re excited to be joining Mondelēz International and their family of brands. They’re on a mission to lead the future of snacking and we can’t wait to join them,” Wilson said.
Mondelēz International Australia, New Zealand and Japan president Darren O’Brien said Gourmet Food complemented Mondelēz’s geographic scale and coverage and had become a category leader through being “innovative, agile and consumer centric”.
“It’s our ambition to build their portfolio of brands
for more consumers in Australia and around
the world,” he said. The company
started manufacturing
gourmet crackers in 2015 with four staff, one production line and four products. Wilson said it grew
quickly because the
company “reinvigorated” the Australian deli cracker category. “We saw an opportunity, so we pounced.”
By 2017, the company had 80 SKUs and within three years it was the top ranked supplier in the Australian Grocery Deli Category of the Advantage Report, a 360-degree survey that sets the supplier performance benchmark across the retail sector.
By 2018, it had outgrown its facility and made the decision to seek external to step change its manufacturing capability and capacity. Champ Private Equity acquired the company as part of its Gourmet Food Group in 2018.
“Not growing was not an option. We love to grow, we thrive on growing and growing quickly. My experience in manufacturing is that space creates opportunity. Opportunity to be daring and creative with new product development. NPD and speed to market is in our DNA – it’s what we love and what we thrive on,” Wilson said.
In 2019, the company opened a 12,500 square metre facility in Dandenong, Victoria, which saw it become the largest manufacturer of the most diverse range of premium crackers in the southern hemisphere. At capacity, the factory manufactures 350,000 crackers an hour. ✷
HEALTH AND SAFETY FLOORING
SLIP RESISTANT • ULTRA CLEAN • IMPERVIOUS
1800 ROXSET
1800 769 738 www.roxset.com.au
Food Factories, Meat Processing Facilities, Bakeries, Hotels, Nursing Homes, Hospitals, Restaurants, Retail Outlets, Seafood and all other Safety Surfaces.
Do you need flooring for your Food Facility?
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | April 2021 | Food&Drink business | 5