Exclusive: Some of Australia’s biggest milk, yogurt and fruit juice brands are now officially no longer in foreign hands – and consumers can expect to see new products hit supermarket shelves.
Bela Cheese acquired popular milk brands such as Big M, Dare, Farmers Union, Pura and Dairy Farmers through the acquisition of the Japanese division Lion’s Dairy and Drinks.
The $ 534 million deal marks the local company’s first foray into fresh dairy, yogurt labels like Yoplait and fruit juice including Daily Juice, Berri and The Juice Brothers.
Barry Irvin, chairman of Bega Cheese, told News Corp Australia that the acquisition of the « enviable » brands marks a new chapter for the company, which has traditionally focused on longer shelf life products such as infant formula, powdered milk and cream cheese.
Mr Irvin said the company’s immediate priorities would be to identify « efficiencies » in manufacturing and logistics, but buyers will see product changes.
This can be in the form of new changes to existing products or in the form of more convenient packaging.
« We are very excited about the yogurt business, the Greek-style Yoplait and Farmers Union brands that we have acquired, » said Irvin.
« We believe there is a great way to add extra varieties and convenient packaging and offer products for different ages in a healthy way, which we already do but will try to expand. »
« So our ultimate goal is to deliver natural products that are good for consumers in the form they want most, » he said.
The deal also sees the company add another 13 manufacturing facilities to its portfolio, bringing its total to 20 (plus a joint venture) in six states and one territory: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia and the USA ACTION.
Mr Irvin said this would also mean adding more than 2,000 workers to Bega Cheese’s workforce, but admitted that there would be some executive job losses.
« The people who make these products every day need to keep making them. We therefore welcome a large number of people who we expect to become long-term Bega employees now, » he said.
« However, there will be duplication and rationalization in some business areas.
Mr Irvin said Bega Cheese will also seek to expand the international presence of its newly acquired products in the future, but said there were challenges due to their shorter shelf life.
Gary Mortimer, a Queensland University of Technology professor and retail expert, said Bega Cheese’s recent additions had already benefited from strong brand awareness that would likely only be enhanced by their Australian ownership.
« Consumers are always concerned about where their product comes from and is made and by ownership models, » he said.
« They’re more likely to buy a product when it’s made by a local company in Australia and when they know the money will stay in the country. »
However, he added that moving away from a global entity like Lion could limit access to capital and make distributing products around the world more difficult and expensive.
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