Page 10 - Food&Drink Jan-Feb 2022 magazine

INDIGENOUS BUSINESS
A significant investment from the Hudson Food Group into Aboriginal- owned private equity firm Biripi Capital is focused on redefining how business can generate value beyond the balance sheet.
Kim Berry writes.
Value beyond the balance sheet
IT took more than six months for Biripi Capital and the Hudson Food Group to develop an investment structure that put maximising social impact at its heart.
The result was Biripi closing an initial tranche of a $20 million investment from Hudson at the end of 2021, believed to be the largest impact investment into an Aboriginal business ever made in Australia.
Hudson’s investment gives it minority ownership in the group.
Earlier in the year, Biripi established the Supply Nation registered company The Dreaming Food Group, intent to compete at scale in Australia’s food industry, focusing on food manufacturing, brand creation, and mainstream food services distribution.
Biripi men David Liddiard and Michael Manikas co-founded the group with the goal of redefining the role businesses can play in having a positive social impact.
CLOSING THE GAP
One third of all profits will go to The Dreaming Foundation, a not-for-profit established to fund Aboriginal-led organisations deliver programs and initiatives that directly contribute to Closing the Gap.
Central to the model is that the greater the Food Group’s profit, the greater the funding
pool will be for the foundation to invest in Aboriginal-led groups working to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Liddiard and Manikas say the group is on track to be profitable within its first year, which will translate to immediate funds for the foundation. They also intend to support Indigenous employment, supply chain and other social outcomes.
CORPORATE PURPOSE
Manikas says the business offers a new model for corporate purpose.
“We’ve been working closely with the Hudson Food Group over the past six months to develop an investment structure that embeds maximum social impact into the core of our operating model.
“This investment will be critical for our growth and impact ambitions over the next two years,” Manikas says.
Manufacturing capability is set to come online early this year, with The Dreaming Food Group targeting $100 million in revenue within the next two years.
It is focused on four key areas of growth: food services (providing hospitality venues with over 5500 pantry style food supplies); food manufacturing; the development of consumer
food products and brands; and native ingredients.
IMPACT INVESTING
For Hudson Food Group CEO Frank Karkalas it is an opportunity for Hudson to make an impact investment.
“We were determined that there was a model that could exist for us to both fund the growth and development of the business, and make a meaningful difference to our reconciliation journey as a company and as individuals to
is not in conflict with doing good. Our ambitions for success with The Dreaming Food Group are fuelled by our vision for the impact we can make to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia through The Dreaming Foundation,” Liddiard says.
The Dreaming Foundation is a first, looking to provide non-governmental funding across the 17 Closing the Gap targets. Its work aims to champion Closing the Gap by connecting government,
For co-founder David Liddiard, the business is a new model for corporate purpose.
“ We are making a compelling argument to the Australian business community: doing well is not in conflict with doing good.”
close the gap. More needs to be done by corporate Australia, and this investment, shows it can be done,” Karkalas says.
The funds will help The Dreaming Food Group scale up more quickly and open additional growth opportunities across the business, specifically in establishing a world-class manufacturing capability.
Liddiard says business has, more than ever, a responsibility to create value beyond the balance sheet.
“We are making a compelling argument to the Australian business community: doing well
corporations and Aboriginal-led charities and organisations.
The foundation’s first grants are planned for Indigenous mental health, culture, and healing initiatives.
“We are excited to share with Australia a new model for corporate purpose, and it’s incredibly fitting that we are doing so as a First Nations-owned and led business,” Manikas says.
The impact investment was led and structured by Biripi Capital in house, by its chief operating officer Anthony Ward and supported by K&L Gates as its strategic lead advisor. ✷
10 | Food&Drink business | January-February 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
WAYNE QUILLIAM