Page 12 - Food&Drink magazine November-December 2022

Business NOT as usual
And that’s a wrap: Food & Drink Business LIVE 2022 was a triumph of insightful and inspiring speakers, networking, and reconnecting. Kim Berry and Pippa Haupt report on the event.
Food & Drink Business editor Kim Berry.
BELOW: The Conversation Quarter at the State Library Victoria set a grand scene for a dynamic morning.
LIVE 22 REVIEW
WITH this year’s theme Business NOT as Usual, it was a chance to examine the impact of Covid, catastrophic weather events, and geo-political tensions have played in changing how we do business, what has gained importance, and what is on
the horizon.
The morning started with a
fireside chat between Food & Drink Business editor Kim Berry and the founder and CEO of Bubs Australia Kristy Carr. They discussed the whirlwind of 2022, which manifested in more than one million tins of Bubs infant formula being shipped to the US in four months.
Carr also shared the company’s experience building its export market to China and what is needed for companies to succeed in large, competitive but very different markets.
“Pre-Covid as a business
we were very focused on China as market, but also kept growing a rock-solid foundation in Australia.
“I always recommend that approach to anyone trying to enter the market in China because until you have that authenticity, it's very hard to make it, especially in the Daigou network,” Carr said.
“Strategy is really important and everyone might have a different one, depending on the size of their business, the lifecycle of their brand, and what the markets are doing.
“I found that when you completely pivot, your strategy doesn’t kick in overnight. So, you’ve got to know when it’s the wrong one and not working. But when you know it’s right, you have to commit to it, and that can be daunting, especially as the person leading the team,” she explained.
THE FOOD TECH FUTURE
Eden Brew CEO Jim Fader took the attendees on an informative and entertaining journey of how the food tech company is creating milk without the cow using precision fermentation. His disarming manner and self-depreciating humour went a long way for those struggling with some of the science.
Fader began with the basics of milk and how to make it
12 | Food&Drink business | November-December 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au