News

Food & Agribusiness Network (FAN) has named Nicole McNaughton as its new CEO after the successful cluster secures additional funding. 

McNaughton joined FAN in 2018 and has collaborated with the team and key stakeholders to acquire considerable financing to implement plans and programs. She worked with approximately 370 members, major partners at all levels of government, and premier academic institutes to improve the region’s food and beverage offerings. 

“Securing significant funding this year, to showcase and build capability in food and agribusiness tourism and roll out a new accelerator program, is the start of the next incredible journey for our regions,” she said. 

“It’s a great example of the work we conduct behind the scenes, where we connect with and work alongside key partners and stakeholders to be the conduit of connections and opportunities for our members and industry.” 

The chair of FAN, Jacqui Price, said Nicole has been acting CEO since late 2022 and has shown “wonderful devotion” to the post, providing more money for capability programs and searching out fresh methods to promote FAN’s work.

The battle for budget groceries is heating up as competitors to supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths, including Costco and Aldi, say their value offers are resonating with cash-strapped shoppers.

A flurry of competition on essential items comes as a UBS investment bank survey of suppliers last week suggested food inflation would moderate significantly but was expected to sit at about 4.8 per cent over the next year.

This inflation rate is expected to “prompt consumers to trade down to smaller pack sizes, private label and/or to Aldi”, UBS said in a note to clients, making Aldi the most likely business to grow market share over the next six months.

The German discount supermarket has been upbeat about its position in the face of the cost of living crisis. The company said last month that many shoppers had been coming to its stores for the first time recently, and it was gradually increasing the size of its shops.

“[Shoppers] might come in for meat, and it might take them a month, or two months, but they start exploring different parts of the range,” Aldi’s director of customer interactions, Adrian Christie, said.

Aldi is not the only grocery challenger looking to capture value-conscious consumers. The managing director of Costco in Australia, Patrick Noone, said the membership and online warehouse was still in expansion mode in Australia, and that food and fuel had been the company’s most popular categories in recent times as shoppers demanded more value on essentials.

“Costco offers a wide range of quality, brand-name items at the best possible prices,” he said. “A lot of these items are everyday essentials that provide the savings members are looking for. We also add a layer of competition to the grocery market and extend the choice of the consumer.”

IGA operator Metcash is also working on ways to deliver for value-conscious consumers, and has been trialling a new store format called Supa Valu, with two sites so far in NSW and one in Victoria.

“The format is designed to offer these shoppers amazing value on their weekly shop through our bulk buying, locking more prices down for longer, along with extra low prices on weekly specials for key items such as meat and produce,” said Metcash Food chief executive Grant Ramage.

Fast food chain McDonald’s is set to inject $1 billion into opening 100 new restaurants across Australia and upgrading its existing network.

The company’s Australian chief Antoni Martinez says the company wants to capture the brand’s growing popularity and modernise its online offering.

“I just think when you look at our performance at the moment, it’s a great opportunity for us to accelerate that growth,” Martinez told The Australian.

“We are seeing customers and sales growth, we’re seeing opportunities to innovate and excite customers, because we’re seeing drivers in growth such as the delivery platform and drive-thru, in our McCafe.”

The company plans to spend about $600 million on 100 new stores in the next three years while $450 million will be spent on refurbishing.

Martinez added that customers are “keen” to see more McDonald’s in their local communities since about 85 per cent of all McDonald’s stores are owned by franchisees.

The brand also wants to supercharge its “convenience offer” by making big improvements to its online platforms, home delivery and mobile app.

Over the past year, customers redeemed more than 58 billion points through the MyMacca’s Rewards program with total digital sales making up about 40 per cent of system-wide sales.

“It continues to highlight the value that customers put towards convenience, their ability to engage on the MyMacca’s app,” said Martinez.

Global toy company Mattel has partnered with Retail Prodigy Group (RPG) to launch an online store in time for the Barbie movie launch.

Mattel’s portfolio includes Barbie, Hot Wheels, Thomas & Friends, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Uno, Masters of the Universe, Monster High and Mega.

RPG is an Australian retail franchise partner for global brands and since 2011 has worked with Nike to expand its footprint across Australia and New Zealand.

Paul Faulkner, MD of Mattel – Asia Pacific, said the brand is on a mission to create “innovative products and experiences” together with RPG.

“Our consumers are fans, looking to enjoy our brands in categories like apparel and homewares. Our new partnership with RPG lets us do just that.”

Stephen Younane, CEO of RPG, said the company is “dedicated to providing the best retail experiences” for its customers and is looking forward to bringing that same excellence to Mattel’s brand portfolio.

Productivity and focus are expected to be the next benefits that consumers want from food and beverage products, according to Mintel’s Global Food and Drink Trend ‘Staying Sharp’.

The company’s global consumer research shows that 55 per cent of consumers would like their diet to help strengthen the immune system, 40 per cent would like their diet to help maintain healthy brain function, and 26 per cent to improve their mood. 

Stephanie Mattucci, director of Mintel Food and Drink Research, said that interest in mood and cognitive benefits is modest but growing. 

“Brands have an opportunity to help consumers optimise their mental performance, but there is work to be done,’ said Mattucci.

“Consumers need encouragement to try these products, creating an opportunity for brands to get consumers excited about brain and mood health benefits.”

At IFT 2023 (Institute of Food Technologies), Mattucci suggested that natural caffeine and B vitamins, as ingredients that provide focus and clarity and support brain health, could be part of the next wave of functional food and drink launches to watch.

While coffee dominates as an ingredient for brain support – with 14 per cent of global F&B products launched in the last five years claimed to have brain/nervous system benefits – new sources of caffeine are emerging, such as guarana and yerba mate, positioned as ‘natural caffeine’.

Mattucci continued that while consumers value caffeine’s mental energy boost, they still have concerns about its overall health impact, creating opportunities for new caffeine sources that offer sustained energy with fewer side effects. 

“Brands that educate consumers about these less familiar sources of caffeine stand to benefit,” she added. 

Meanwhile, Mintel’s research indicates that B vitamins can be safer for consumers looking for additional energy and overall health benefits. B vitamins support metabolism and the body’s ability to produce energy, as well as support neurotransmitters, which play a key role in mood and mental health.

In the past five years, nearly half (45 per cent) of global food and drink launches with a brain/nervous system claim contained a B vitamin. Two in five (37 per cent) global food and drink launches with an energy functional claim contained a B vitamin.

Mattucci remarked that food and beverage brands looking to boost mental performance ingredients and benefits must “tap into the familiar” and need to reassure consumers about eating for their brain.

“Experimentation with novel brain-boosting ingredients will take time and trust,” she concluded.

“As consumers become familiar with this concept, they will turn to food and drink that can support cognition, manage stress levels, and optimise brain function. Brands have the opportunity to pair ingredients that can help consumers cope with stress with those that support mental clarity.”

Mintel is a market intelligence company providing detailed insights into consumer and business market sectors.

Private equity fund Glow Capital Partners is set to acquire a 51 per cent stake in an Australian hospitality uniform brand Cargo Crew.

Glow Capital was established by Adore Beauty’s co-founder Kate Morris and former Quadrant Private Equity managing partner Justin Ryan in 2021.

Under the deal, the Cargo Crew executive team will “retain full management control” while three members from Glow Capital Partners will join the company’s board.

Cargo Crew founder Felicity Rodgers said it has been “a long journey” bootstrapping the family-owned business into a whole new product category in the Australian market.

“Over the last two decades, we’ve built this business to be a uniform brand people want to wear. As the Melbourne hospitality industry has become world-renowned, our brand has grown alongside.”

The brand supplies customisable uniforms to retail, hospitality, transport, health, banking and government industries and makes about 25 per cent of sales from international customers.

Its clientele includes Miele, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and celebrity chef Curtis Stone.

“The partnership with Glow Capital is the next natural step for our business. We have an incredible growth opportunity ahead of us, so we welcome the expertise in scaling up and building a global brand that the Glow team brings,” said Rodgers.

Glow co-founder, Justin Ryan, said Cargo Crew is the type of business Glow Capital Partners was looking to invest in.

“They have a proven track record with 21 years in business already and with an excellent founder and executive team, they are primed for growth that Glow can help accelerate.”

Bounce Foods, an Australian pioneer in the protein bar and ‘energy ball’ market, has fallen into voluntary administration, owing to significant debts from an unsuccessful foray into the American market.

Documents published by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) show Natural High Co Pty Ltd, trading as Bounce Foods, has appointed John McInerney and Philip Campbell-Wilson of Grant Thornton as joint administrators.

Speaking to SmartCompany on Tuesday, McInerney said the administrators have launched an urgent expression of interest campaign, in the hopes of finding a buyer to take over the business and continue trading the two-decade-old Bounce Foods brand.

While the Bounce Foods online store remains online at time of writing, and its products remain stocked in supermarkets nationwide, McInerney confirmed all staff have been stood down through the administration process.

“While the management team are staying on to support the voluntary administration process, due to limited available cashflow, all staff contracts were terminated on the date of the Administrator’s appointment,” he said.

What happened to Bounce Foods?

Founded in 2004 by Bondi husband-and-wife duo Andrew and Paula Hannagan, Bounce Foods was among the first Australian companies to bring high-end protein snacks, geared towards health and fitness aficionados, to the local market.

According to the couple’s website, Paula was inspired by the fitness-focused snacks she discovered on a trip to New York City.

She worked with Andrew to find a US manufacturer to develop products for the Australian market, with the pair initially marketing the brand’s protein balls to health food shops, juice bars and gyms.

The brand grew onshore as local appetite for protein snacks increased.

The Hannagans relocated from Australia to Oregon to explore an expansion into the US market itself in 2014.

That move proved too ambitious, Andrew Hannagan wrote on LinkedIn, given the “mature and well established” competition abroad, and the way Bounce Foods “completely underestimated” the challenges of raising capital abroad.

McInerney said the attempted US expansion cost $6 million, leaving a “heavy debt burden” on the business, which has limited Bounce Foods’ ability to access working capital for its domestic operations.

Despite the setback, Bounce Foods transitioned to local manufacturing after retreating from the US market, and has secured distribution in Woolworths and Coles, alongside independent grocers and convenience stores.

Recent partnerships include a collaboration with major Australian frozen treats brand Weis, now owned by Unilever.

SmartCompany understands the administrators are confident in the strength of the brand and its underlying revenue performance, despite the debt burden carried by the business.

Regulatory concerns have been raised over Coles’ plan to purchase two milk processing plants in Victoria and NSW from Canadian dairy company Saputo.

Should Coles’ bid succeed, it will be the first time a supermarket will own and operate its own milk processing facilities.

The ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Competition) and several industry players said the move would result in a major structural shift that could substantially lessen competition and lower prices for dairy farmers. 

According to the consumer watchdog, it is closely considering whether the acquisition would allow Coles to influence the market in a way that was not possible as a retailer and purchaser of dairy products.

“For NSW dairy farmers, concerns have been raised that this acquisition may change Saputo’s incentives to continue acquiring raw milk in NSW,” said Mick Keogh, deputy chair of ACCC. 

He added that industry participants had raised concerns that the acquisition would result in Coles’ consolidation of its private-label milk production and increase its bargaining power in negotiations with dairy processors and wholesalers.

NSW and Victorian farmers sell raw milk to the supermarket giant, which processes the product at the two Saputo plants.

“If Saputo does exit NSW as a result of the acquisition, this would leave limited competition in regions of NSW, which could result in farmers receiving lower prices for their raw milk,” remarked Keogh.

Coles CEO Lea Weckert said the company doesn’t see any lessening of competition, noting that the company already acquires 80 per cent of the volumes at the facilities and will provide milk processing services to Saputo Dairy under an arrangement. 

“We remain confident that any outstanding concerns can be addressed so that the proposed transaction can proceed to completion,” she concluded.

L’Oreal has named social media personality Kendall Jenner a global ambassador as part of its strategy to improve the brand’s image. 

Kendall Jenner will be the face of L’Oreal Paris’ beauty campaigns beginning in September.

Born in Los Angeles in 1995, Jenner has become one of the world’s most recognised models and one of the world’s most influential women since 2007, together with her sisters. 

“At any other time, Kendall Jenner might have been as successful as she is now, but her worth and her choices and her image might have been defined or even controlled by others. But nobody defines Kendall Jenner but Kendall Jenner,” said Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, L’Oréal Paris global president.

“She is the embodiment of everything Gen-Z stands for, owning her image, proudly growing in her self-worth, and inspiring others to do the same.”

According to L’Oreal, Jenner is an example of solidarity and sisterhood, which matches the image it is seeking.

The 27-year-old model will reportedly front future advertisements for items including the Infallible Matte Resistance Lipstick and the Panorama Mascara, targeting young customers. 

ASX-listed winemaker Treasury Wines Estate (TWE) will close its Karadoc winery in northwest Victoria due to declining wine consumption and rising costs.

Established in 1973, the Karadoc winery makes wine for TWE brands including 19 Crimes, Lindeman’s, Wolf Blass and Yellowglen.

TWE chief supply officer Kerrin Petty said the decision was a “last resort” after the company looked at all other options.

“A number of factors contribute to our shifting vineyard footprint including changing consumer trends and wine preferences as well environmental changes such as higher temperatures and reduced access to water.

“This has meant divesting some of our vineyard assets but also looking at opportunities to expand our footprint in new locations for future growth.”

According to SMH, the closure would result in the loss of 60 jobs, however, the company said necessary assistance would be provided to help staff land roles in the local winemaking industry.

The winemaker will also divest its commercial vineyards in Lake Cullulleraine, Victoria and Yankabilly, NSW.

Following the closure mid-next year, the brand’s wine will be produced through TWE’s winemaking partners – Zilzie Wines and Qualia – and at TWE’s Barossa winery in South Australia.

In May, the winemaker said it was looking to sell off underperforming brands to cut costs and focus more on growing its higher-value and luxury portfolio.