AFRICA'S NO.1 FOOD, BEVERAGE & MILLING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

Fonterra owned Anchor launches New Zealand’s first plant-based milk bottles

Oct 6, 2020Oct 6, 2020 Editor

NEW ZEALAND – Anchor, a key brand owned by the international exporter Fonterra Co-operative Group, is set to launch New Zealand’s first plant-based milk bottles, Blue range, with a new 2 litre bottle made from sugarcane. According to Fonterra, this aligns with their commitment to have all packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. The sugarcane is natural, renewable and sustainably sourced in Brazil, one of the largest growers of sugarcane. In addition, the plant captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it grows, resulting in a bottle that has…

PepsiCo targets to source 100% renewable electricity by 2040, New Zealand gets a new general manager

Sep 28, 2020Sep 28, 2020 Editor

USA – PepsiCo Inc. has announced a new target to source 100% renewable electricity across all of its company owned and controlled operations globally by 2030 and across its entire franchise and third-party operations by 2040. With PepsiCo’s scale, the transition has the potential to reduce approximately 2.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040, the equivalent of taking more than half a million cars off the road for a full year. This announcement builds upon the company’s global efforts to increase its use of renewable energy…

Fonterra acquires dairy processing and manufacturing subsidiary of Retail Food Group Limited

Sep 15, 2020Sep 15, 2020 Editor

NEW ZEALAND – Retail Food Group Limited (RFG), a cafe and restaurant franchise company, has sold its dairy processing and manufacturing subsidiary Dairy Country to New Zealand-owned Fonterra Brands (Australia). RFG executive chairman Peter George said in a statement the move is part of the company’s 18-month restructure and transformation program. The company is focusing on its core franchising and coffee businesses as well as applying a new franchise system across its eight brands. “Our focus must be on our franchisees. We are only as strong as our franchisees. This…

Fishing firm Sanford New Zealand CEO Volker Kuntzsch resigns after seven years

Sep 11, 2020Sep 11, 2020 Editor

NEW ZEALAND – Sanford, a fishing and processing firm, has announced that its CEO of New Zealand, Volker Kuntzsch, has resigned after seven years leading the company. Chairman Rob McLeod said Volker had made a transformational impact on Sanford. “Volker has helped transform Sanford into a progressive, values-based company with an outstanding commitment to environmental sustainability and to Sanford’s people. “On behalf of the Sanford team, we are grateful to Volker for his leadership and thank him for a seven-year contribution as our chief executive.” Over those last seven years,…

Coffeehouse chain Starbucks to launch plant-based food and beverages to menus across Asia

Sep 9, 2020Sep 9, 2020 Editor

ASIA – Starbucks Corporation, a multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves, has announced that it will add plant-based food and beverages to menus across Asia from September, including products from Impossible Foods, Oatly and Beyond Meat Inc, as it targets more environment-conscious diners. The Seattle-based coffee chain said it was introducing products in markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Taiwan and Thailand that suit local tastes and preferences. Producing plant-based food and beverages is less demanding on the environment compared with items relying on animal agriculture, which…

The a2 Milk Company eyes majority stake in Mataura Valley Milk for US$176m

Aug 25, 2020Aug 25, 2020 Editor

NEW ZEALAND – The milk and infant formula products company, a2 Milk has made a non-binding indicative offer of around NZ$270 million (US$176.41 million) for a controlling stake of 75.1% in Mataura Valley Milk (MVM), a New Zealand dairy nutrition business. Through the offer a2 Milk will explore options of manufacturing at MVM’s facility in Southland, New Zealand. Mataura has reportedly granted a2 Milk a period of exclusivity to conduct due diligence for the potential deal and to negotiate definitive transaction documentation. The exclusivity arrangements are supported by MVM’s current…

Fonterra to roll out new payment for sustainable and high value milk

Jun 23, 2020Jun 23, 2020 Editor

NEW ZEALAND – Fonterra, a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative, has announced that it is introducing a Co-operative Difference Payment for farmers producing sustainable and high quality milk based on the Co-op’s on-farm sustainability and value targets. Effective from next season, from 1 June 2021, Fonterra said that it will be paying farmers an additional payment of up to 10 cents per kilogram of milk solids (kgMS) if the farm meets the Co-op’s on-farm sustainability and value targets. The dairy processor says that these are part of its strategy to…

PepsiCo appoints Wern-Yuen Tan as new CEO of its APAC Business

Jun 3, 2020Jun 3, 2020 Editor

USA – PepsiCo has appointed Wern-Yuen Tan as the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and China (APAC), overseeing all of company’s operations in the region, effective June 15, 2020. Tan joins PepsiCo from Walmart, where he served as the President and CEO of Walmart China and led a team of 100,000 associates responsible for over US$10 billion in annual revenue across the Walmart, Sam’s Club and eCommerce businesses. During his tenure, he led Walmart China through a time of transformation to become an industry pioneer in…

Barry Callebaut to acquire Australian chocolate manufacturer GKC Foods

May 27, 2020May 27, 2020 Editor

SWITZERLAND – Barry Callebaut has signed an agreement to acquire GKC Foods, an a privately-owned B2B chocolate manufacturer based in Australia in a deal that will give Barry Callebaut direct presence and manufacturing capacity in Australia and further expand in New Zealand. Barry Callebaut said that the acquisition of GKC Foods will empower the group to expand its position in the industrial chocolate market and to leverage its value-adding Gourmet & Specialties business in Australia and New Zealand. Post-acquisition the chocolate manufacturer said that it will continue to work with…

Alliance Group to invest US$4m in expanding its beef processing capacity

May 18, 2020May 18, 2020 Editor

NEW ZEALAND – Alliance Group, a New Zealand-based food and solutions co-operative has announced that it will be investing US$4 million to expand its beef processing capacity in the South Island, New Zealand. Alliance Group further revealed that it will be investing in its 18-month-old venison plant at Lorneville near Invercargill to enable the facility to additionally process cull cows during peak season. David Surveyor, chief executive of Alliance Group, said the investment is a key part of the co-operative’s beef growth strategy, adding that the expansions have been necessitated…