Page 6 - Food&Drink Magazine November-December 2021

NEWS
Top 5 clicks of 2021
The year was not short of big news stories, but these five logged the most clicks on the Food & Drink Business website for 2021.
1MONDELEZ DIPS
INTO CRACKERS
In March, Mondelez International acquired Australian premium cracker manufacturer Gourmet Food Holdings (GFH) for reportedly more than $400 million.
The global FMCG giant said the buy provided entry into a whole new snacking market. Mondelez International Australia, New Zealand and Japan president Darren O’Brien said GFH had become a category leader through its “innovative, agile and consumer centric approach”. He wasn’t wrong, GFH began in 2015 with four partners, one production
line, and four products. At sale time, it was turning out up to 250,000 crackers an hour for six product ranges with 120 SKUs on eight production lines.
Mondelez will operate
GFH as a separate business
and will provide resources
to accelerate its growth. The sale included GFH’s pre-packaged seafood business.
2WOOLWORTHS’ $223M ANALYTICS BUY Woolworths Group’s latest investment in analytics firm Quantium was big AI/analytics news. The group increased its share from 47 to 75 per cent for $223 million, with the Quantium founders and team
retaining the remaining 25 per cent shareholding. Woolworths bought 50 per cent of the company in 2013 for roughly $420
million, in a deal which allowed the group and its
suppliers to use Quantium data for decisions across pricing, ranging and promotions.
The retailer subsequently created a new business
unit – Q-Retail – that will deliver advanced analytics and help commercialise retail
products around the world. The division will be run by the existing Quantium management team, led by co-founder and CEO Adam Driussi with Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci as chair.
3
MARKET IN AUSTRALIA
What was a whisper in 2020 became a roar in 2021. The release of alternative protein think tank Food Frontier’s 2020
direct full-time
equivalent (FTE)
roles (up 137 per
cent) and 301 extra
indirect FTEs, an
increase of 87 per
cent, which relates to the sector’s purchase of up-stream inputs. There is so much happening across the spectrum of alternative proteins, from plant-based, precision fermentation, and cultured meat. (Read more about the sector on page 14.)
4
$45.7M INVESTMENT
One of the logjams for the Australian plant-based food industry is the lack of local plant protein processing, so any developments in the sector garner a lot of attention. Australia’s only commercial
plant protein fraction plant, Australian Plant Proteins (APP), opened its first plant in 2020, providing a major value-added step for Australia’s legume and pulse supply chain.
This year, the company secured $45.7 million from global agrifood company Bunge. The investment allows APP to double output of plant protein isolates by March
2022. The agreement gives Bunge a minority stake in the company, exclusive distribution rights in the Americas, and the option to licence APP proprietary processing technology outside Australia.
As demand for plant protein
ingredients expands into different market segments including baked goods, snacks and sports nutrition products, the need for local plant protein processing will only grow.
5
NEW BUSINESS
Our story on how The Arnott’s Group was incorporating its three cereal and snacks business acquisitions piqued readers’ interest. Following the acquisition of Freedom Foods’ Cereals and Snacks division at the end of 2020, Diver Foods in February, and 180degrees in May, Arnott’s announced a new business division, Good Food Partners (GFP). Arnott’s head of transformation Simon Lowden said the acquisitions were part of the company’s goal to become a regional powerhouse of consumer food brands and GFP would be a strong growth engine for the business.
For Diver Foods owner Chris Diver, now general manager of GFP, this year has been a significant undertaking. Growing from one site in Melbourne to four in multiple states and streamlining processes and production is no mean feat. That said, GFP released its first branded product in October – a reformulation of Messy Monkeys Wholegrain Bites. ✷
INDUSTRY REPORT:
PLANT-BASED MEAT
AUSTRALIAN PLANT
PROTEINS SECURES
HOW ARNOTT’S
IS MAKING A
State of the Industry report was one of our most read stories of the year. Understandably so – from FY19 to FY20, the Australian plant-based meat sector doubled its manufacturing revenue, workforce, and number of products on retail shelves. While the sale of plant-based meat increased by 46 per cent, the economic opportunities of the local plant-based market remain largely untapped, the report found. The sector’s manufacturing revenue rose from $35.2 million in FY19 to $69.9 million in FY20, and employment increased 106 per cent. That broke down to 246
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