Page 70 - Food&Drink magazine November-December 2022

YEAR IN REVIEW
MAY
ABS REVEALS LARGEST INFLATION RISE IN 20 YEARS The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the consumer price index recorded its largest quarterly and annual rise since the introduction of the GST 22 years ago. The March quarterly figures showed CPI rose 2.1 per cent in the quarter and
5.1 per cent for the year to March. Food and groceries rose 2.8 per cent due to high transport, fertiliser, packaging and ingredient costs, as well as Covid-related disruptions and herd restocking.
ROMA LOOKS TO SELL
Australia’s largest allergen free food manufacturer Roma Foods looked to sell the business, saying an unsolicited offer in 2021 sparked the process.
Roma Foods managing director Max Buontempo (below, with CEO Sam Schachna) said the unprompted approach prompted the directors to undertake a formal process to test market interest in the business.
The company is one of Australia’s leading allergen-free, gluten-free, and plant-based manufacturers.
CONSORTIUM INVESTS IN PERFECTION FRESH Perfection Fresh has sold part of the business to an investment consortium of Equilibrium Capital, Temasek and existing shareholder the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).
PF said it would build on its current facilities, including its 43-hectare high tech glasshouse vine crop facility and 116-hectare berry polyhouses, with strategically aligned controlled environment agriculture partner growers and through its owns assets.
COVID COSTS BEGA $40M
Bega Cheese said costs directly related to Covid would exceed $40 million for FY22.
In its 1H FY22 update, Bega said the impact of Covid would exceed $20 million, and while there had been some recovery in the market and easing of Covid-related costs, the full year impact would be double that.
Flooding events in Central Australia, Northern NSW, and Queensland, including rail services being cut added costs and further supply chain disruption, while the outbreak of war in Ukraine increased some input costs.
ENDEAVOUR ACQUIRES JOSEF CHROMY
Endeavour Group acquired Tasmanian winery Josef Chromy Wines to expand its Paragon Wine Estates fine wine portfolio. The sale was in partnership with Warakirri Asset Management.
Endeavour Group welcomed over 60 team members from Josef Chromy’s winery and cellar door to its operations in Tasmania, which consists of more than
40 stores and pubs with roughly 500 team members.
Endeavour Group will lease the winery, 61 hectare vineyard, restaurant and cellar door from Warakirri Asset Management on a long term basis.
DELOITTE LEAVES NOUMI
Noumi’s auditor Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu told the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) it had a conflict of interest due to the class action proceedings being brought against it in relation to its role as the company’s auditor when it was operating as Freedom Foods Group.
Deloitte told ASIC it intends to plead a proportionate liability defence and identify noumi
as a concurrent wrongdoer,
and a defensive crossclaim against the company.
Noumi said it intends to vigorously defend all claims made against it in the proceedings.
✷ JUNE
MAGGIE BEER TO SELL DAIRY ASSETS
Maggie Beer Holdings looks set to offload dairy assets Paris Creek Farms and St David Dairy, with the two accounting for more than half of the financial impacts of Covid, flood events, and the war in Ukraine.
In a trading update, the company said it had carried out a strategic review and determined the two dairy businesses were non-core assets.
TUI SECURES $2.5M FEDERAL GRANT
Waltanna Farms in Hamilton, Victoria – the cornerstone of TUI Foods – received almost $2.5 million in the latest round of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative for a new purpose-built automated food production facility. It also received $50,000 from the Energy Efficient
✷
ON THE COVER
IMCD
MAY 2022
A TONIC FOR PRIVATE LABEL SUNSHINE COAST EXPLORING THE
THE TIMES P08 PROWESS P12 SHOWCASE P16 ORGANIC AISLE P20
WWW.FOODANDDR
INKBUSINESS.COM.AU
Growing Greener
with IMCD
Cover.indd 1 11/5/22 4:52 pm
Communities grant program. The new manufacturing plant has capabilities for Australia’s first oat-flax syrup production and specialised dehydration technology for nutraceutical and innovative food ingredients.
TWE BAROSSA INVESTMENT
Treasury Wine Estates’ (TWE)
$165 million new production facility in South Australia’s Barossa Valley is said to be the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, producing more than 100 million litres of wine.
The build was two and a half years in the making. It is TWE’s largest bottling operation in the world, packaging up to 216 million bottles per year, operating four bottling lines, and exporting to more than 70 countries.
The new site provides the scope to increase premium winemaking capacity by one-third. It includes an additional production line, processing infrastructure, and additional barrel storage.
THIRD A2 CLASS ACTION
Thorn Law lodged a class action proceeding against a2 Milk in the High Court of New Zealand, with similar allegations to the two filed in Australia. In FY21, the dairy company recorded a 77.6 per cent EBITDA fall to NZ$123 million, with revenue down 30.3 per cent to NZ$1.21 billion. Class actions were launched by Shine Lawyers and Slater and Gordon, which alleged the company may have breached the Corporations Act through misleading or deceptive conduct. Slater & Gordon said a2 Milk was or ought to have been aware that its FY21 guidance didn’t adequately consider factors that were likely to have an impact on its financial performance.
ON THE COVER
Tetra Pak
JUNE 2022
THE LO/NO GIN NO TIME TO NEW UPCYCLING FOR CHOBANI’S SPECIAL CHALLENGE P12 WASTE P20 WINE GRAPES P28 SUPPLY CHAIN P38
WWW.FOODANDDRINKBUSINESS.COM.AU
Iconic brand Rosella makes the switch from cans to cartons
Cover.indd 1 16/6/22 2:07 pm
70 | Food&Drink business | November-December 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
PRINT POST APPROVED 100005338
PRINT POST APPROVED 100005338