Page 60 - Food & Drink Business Nov-Dec 2019

YEAR IN REVIEW
automated ambient distribution centres, located in Brisbane and Sydney. It will cost a combined $950 million over six years.
RETURN OF THE POLLY WAFFLE
The Polly Waffle is making a comeback thanks to South Australian confectioner Robern Menz, which bought the brand off Nestlé.
The acquisition came
just 12 months after Robern Menz bought Violet Crumble from Nestlé, which the company re-introduced
in October of last year.
“With production ceasing almost 10 years ago, Polly
✷ APRIL ON THE COVER:
JUST WATER AND TETRA PAK
Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
“FSANZ has identified four key causes of allergen-related recalls, including lack of skills and knowledge of labelling requirements; supplier verification; packaging errors; and accidental cross contamination,” said FSANZ CEO Mark Booth.
Issues surrounding a lack
of skills and knowledge of labelling requirements saw, for example, pasta being declared as an ingredient, but not wheat; ingredients lists on labelling not being updated following reformulation; and ingredients not being fully translated into English from the original language.
LGBT INVESTMENT VEHICLE MAKES FIRST AUSSIE FORAY
Gaingels, the world-first investment vehicle for LGBT founders and execs, invested in Australian naturally sugar free beverage company Nexba.
The Gaingels investment formed part of a $6 million Series A capital raise for Nexba, whose co-founder Troy Douglas is a proud gay entrepreneur and business leader.
This was the first Australian investment for the Gaingels group, which already operated in US, Canadian, and British markets. Nexba said it had enjoyed a record year of growth, with a 148 per cent increase in year-on-year gross sales.
$55M ORGANIC DAIRY FACILITY BREAKS GROUND Corio Bay Dairy Group (CBDG) started building its new $55 million plant to produce organic infant formulas and other nutritional powder products, and is set to include Australia’s first dedicated organic nutritional spray dryer.
CBDG is a joint venture between Aussie farmer-owned
Organic Dairy Farmers of Australia (ODFA), Wattle
Health Australia (WHA), and
Blend & Pack. The plant will
be located adjacent to the Organic
Dairy in North
Geelong and use organic milk from the dairy farmers
who own ODFA, and a 50 per cent stake in CBDG.
Both operations will work together,
and when the facility is fully operational in 12
months, the spray dryer will have capacity
to process in excess of 200,000 litres of fresh organic milk daily.
CCA’S SWEET STRATEGY
Coca-Cola Amatil made the switch to 100 per cent sustainably accredited sugar right across its Australian non-alcoholic beverage range.
All sugar will now be sourced from growers who are independently accredited as following sustainable production frameworks, the company said.
Amatil’s sugar purchases are now a mix of Bonsucro and Smartcane Best Management Practice (BMP) certified sugar. Bonsucro and Smartcane BMP are production frameworks which aim to increase on-farm productivity while reducing environmental and social risks.
LION SNAPS UP FOUR PILLARS STAKE
Beverage giant Lion took a significant stake in Victorian craft gin maker Four Pillars Gin, which was founded in 2013.
Lion is owned by Japanese beverage giant Kirin Holdings, and its
portfolio includes
James Squire, Little Creatures, Kosciuszko, and Furphy.
Four Pillars
founders Stuart
Gregor, Cameron
Mackenzie, and Matt
Jones said the investment would allow them to further their ambition of building a leading international craft gin brand.
For Gregor: “The partnership with Lion really is a ripper for us.”
“It would not be untrue to say that more than a few organisations have shown an interest in us over the past 18 months and Lion just felt
the best.”
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Waffle hasInnovating the way forward to meet the needs of entered into
JUST Water, a package with a purpose debuts in Australia
the ‘always on, on demand’ consumer generation
the territory of Australian legend,” Robern Menz CEO Phil Sims said.
The Polly Waffle will return to Australian shelves in
2020.
FOOD INDUSTRY M&A ACTIVITY RAMPS UP Local food and beverage industry M&A activity continued to climb last year, with the number of deals exceeding that of 2017.
According to an annual review of Australian and New Zealand transactions by Comet Line Consulting, 52 transactions took place in 2018 compared to 44 in 2017, with most falling in the $10 million to $100 million enterprise value range.
In 2018, however, there were fewer larger transactions, with only two with valued in excess of $400 million: NZ poultry company Tegel, which was bought by Philippines counterpart Bounty Fresh Food for $NZ438 million; and vitamin company Nature’s Care, which was bought by
a Chinese investor group for an estimated $800 million.
2018 also saw a significant decrease in the number
of IPOs, with just three taking place in 2018 compared to eight in 2017.
Smart Packaging to boost the unstoppable online grocery march
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JUST WATER TAKES THE PLUNGE
Just Water, created by US actor, rapper and entrepreneur Jaden
Smith, launched into Woolworths and 7-Eleven in a paper-based carton powered by Tetra Pak technology.
The brand was launched in the US market first, and made its foray in the UK last year. Australia was the third stop on its global expansion trail.
Woolworths rolled out three variants nationwide in a six-month exclusivity deal: 100 per cent spring water and two JUST Infused options, lemon and berry. 7-Eleven stocked the spring water.
The paper-based carton is made from 82 per cent renewable resources: 54 per cent of the paper is made from Forest Stewardship Council certified and/or controlled wood sources, and 28 per cent (the cap and shoulder) is made of plant-based materials.
UNDECLARED ALLERGENS THE MAIN CAUSE OF RECALLS
Australian food recalls rose to 100 in 2018, up from 69 in 2017, with 46 per cent due to undeclared allergens,
followed by microbial contamination (20 per cent), according to the latest data from Food
60 | Food&Drink business | November-December 2019
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