Page 66 - Food&Drink magazine November-December 2022

YEAR IN REVIEW
2022
headline makers
Food & Drink Business wraps up the news year with some of the top stories from 2021.
JAN/FEB
GOVERNMENT BUCKS SUPPLY CHAIN RESPONSIBILITY
The start of 2022 saw roughly
40 per cent of the supply chain and supermarket workforce sick or in close contact isolation.
As the country grew increasingly alarmed at product shortages and empty supermarket shelves, calls for the federal government to provide nationally consistent rules gained intensity.
The Australia Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) urged the adoption a uniform approach that would allow asymptomatic workers to return to critically important jobs and priority access to rapid antigen tests for daily testing of food and grocery manufacturers.
NOUMI REACHES BLUE ALMOND SETTLEMENT Noumi/Freedom Foods Group resolved its dispute with Blue Diamond Growers over a licencing agreement to manufacture and distribution Almond Breeze products, with noumi agreeing to pay Blue Diamond US$35 million. Chair Genevieve Gregor said it limited by the terms of the
settlement in what FFG could say, but it meant a major legacy issue was resolved.
SPC LOSES
COPYRIGHT APPEAL
The Federal Full Court dismissed an appeal by SPC about an earlier ruling that the business had infringed copyright through ongoing use of enterprise resource planning software by QAD Inc.
QAD contended SPC had infringed its software copyright by continuing to use its ERP program after the company purchased the SPC Ardmona business from Coca-Cola Amatil for $40 million in June 2019.
On appeal, SPC contended that Federal Court Justice Thawley had erred in assessing compensatory damages on the basis that QAD’s maintenance fee of $177,816 should not have been included in the damages set or should have been set on a net profit basis only. And subsequently a reduction in the additional damages.
The full court judges said that even if SPC had succeeded in one or both of its compensatory damages’ challenges, it would have rejected its appeal in regards to additional damages because Justice Thawley had not suggested the connection between the two was quantifiable or proportional.
NEW CEO FOR PEPSICO
Former vice president and general manager of PepsiCo’s US Frito-Lay business Kyle Faulconer became CEO of PepsiCo ANZ, starting the
role in January, replacing Danny Celoni, who moved to head up Carlton & United Breweries for Asahi Beverages.
MARLEY SPOON
ACQUIRES CHEFGOOD Subscription-based meal kit company Marley Spoon completed its $21 million acquisition of Melbourne-based ready meal business Chefgood.
Chefgood targets the health- conscious consumer, with a weekly rotation of more than 30 meals based on a subscription plan.
TATTARANG INVESTS
IN PROFORM FOODS Agribusiness Harvest Road, part of Andrew Forrest’s private investment arm Tattarang, invested in commercial scale plant-based pioneer ProForm Foods.
ProForm Foods CEO Matt Dunn told Food & Drink Business the investment gave Harvest Road a minority stake in the company and would accelerate its next growth phase, assist its existing production facilities, and strengthen its focus on using locally sourced ingredients.
TATTARANG BUYS $108M BEGA SHARES
News that Dr Andrew Forrest’s private investment fund Tattarang Agri Investments had become a major shareholder in
Bega Cheese after buying a
6.61 per cent stake in the business for $108 million over the course of November and December last year, provided a welcome three per cent rebound from a slump following the company’s financial guidance that disappointed investors.
In the financial guidance, Bega told the ASX recent Covid-19 developments – both domestically and overseas – were impacting the business despite the dairy market remaining strong.
WOOLIES SET TO DISTRIBUTE DIRTY CLEAN FOODS
Regenerative food company Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) has secured its largest distribution agreement for its Dirty Clean Food brand, with Woolworths stocking the carbon- neutral oat milk in roughly half of its stores from March 2022.
The initial one-year contract is expected to generate more than $750,000 in sales. Woolworths’ concept store ‘The Kitchen’ will be the first to stock WOA’s OatUp milk and the product will have a six-month minimum shelf life.
TARIFFS STRIPPED WITH UK
Australian food and beverage companies were set to benefit from the recent UK free trade agreement (FTA). The deal removed more than 99 per cent of tariffs on goods being exported to the UK over the next 10 years.
The FTA will cover approximately 75 per cent of trade, opening up preferential access to almost three billion customers.
✷
ON THE COVER
Schmitz Cargobull
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022
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