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Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Food & beverage |
Founded | 1991 |
Headquarters | Docklands, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Area served | Australia New Zealand Asia |
Products | Dairy & juice |
Revenue | ![]() |
Parent | Bega Group |
Subsidiaries | Dairy Farmers & others |
Bega Dairy & Drinks is a subsidiary of Australian diversified food company the Bega Group, having been purchased from the Japanese company Kirin (who owns Lion in Australia) in November 2020. [1] While owned by Kirin, it was known as Lion Dairy & Drinks.
It specialises in dairy food and juice, with core activities in milk, yoghurt, cream, dairy desserts, juice and speciality cheese.
National Foods was created by the Adelaide Steamship Company in 1991 by amalgamating several dairy and food related businesses with brand names and histories dating back to the 19th century.[ citation needed ]
San Miguel Corporation of the Philippines entered a bidding war for National Foods with New Zealand's Fonterra in 2004. National Foods board unanimously accepted the San Miguel Corporation offer. In 2005 San Miguel acquired National Foods for $1.8 billion. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had earlier signed off on San Miguel Corporation's various Australian acquisitions, noting "there is no overlap between San Miguel's different activities in Australia and hence no change likely to the different markets in which these businesses operate." National Foods had earlier sold its juice business to Berri Ltd. After their acquisition National Foods regained 100% ownership of Berri Ltd. in December 2005. The two operations began the merger process soon afterwards. Following the merger, National Foods became the largest citrus and fruit processor in Australia, packaging approximately 50% of all fruit juice beverages sold in Australia. This led to National Foods having 3500 employees and 20 processing plants around Australia and New Zealand, with seven milk plants, five juice plants, four speciality cheese plants, a cheese packaging plant, two dairy foods plants and a joint venture soy beverage plant.[ citation needed ]
On 8 November 2007, San Miguel Corp. sold National Foods to Japan's Kirin Holdings Co. (which had a 20% stake in San Miguel) for $3.1 billion, National Foods became a wholly owned subsidiary of Kirin.[ citation needed ]
In 2008 National Foods acquired Australian dairy company Dairy Farmers and in 2009, when Kirin Holdings acquired Lion Nathan, National Foods and Lion Nathan were merged to create "Lion Nathan National Foods" (San Miguel no longer had any working relations with Australia).[ citation needed ]
In 2011, "Lion Nathan National Foods" separated into two divisions – Lion and Lion Dairy & Drinks.[ citation needed ]
In 2015, Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (owned by Saputo Inc.) paid A$137.5 million for a part of Lion Dairy & Drinks' business, including the cheese brands Cracker Barrel and COON. [2]
On 25 November 2019, it was announced that China's Mengniu Dairy had purchased Lion Dairy from Kirin, for approximately A$600 million (US$407 million). [3] The deal was not opposed by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, [4] but was rejected by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. [5] On 25 August 2020, Kirin, the parent company of Lion, announced the sales has collapsed. [6] In November 2020, the business was sold to Bega Cheese for A$534 million. [1]
In February 2023, it was announced that Bega would stop milk and yoghurt production at their Canberra plant, shifting the processing to their Penrith Plant. [7]
Bega Dairy & Drinks processing factories are[ when? ] located at Chelsea Heights and Morwell in Victoria; Baulkham Hills, Penrith and Hexham in New South Wales; Crestmead in Queensland; Jervois and Clarence Gardens in South Australia; Bentley in Western Australia and Canberra in Australian Capital Territory.[ citation needed ]
The company is a major milk producer in Australia with its flagship Pura brand. It is also a major juice producer and a leader in the fresh dairy products market. As of 2007, National Foods has almost half the national flavoured milk market with the brand Big M, and Farmers Union Iced Coffee has the unusual distinction of being one of only three soft drinks to outsell Coca-Cola in its market-place. National Foods also manufactures yoghurt, fromage frais, dairy desserts, cream and cheese under brands that include Yoplait, Frûche, Divine Classic, YoGo and Farmers Union. The company also produces a range of premium speciality cheeses under brands such as King Island Dairy, South Cape, Tilba, Timboon and Clover Creek.[ citation needed ]
Bega Dairy & Drink's core brands are produced from a total of 24 major facilities (19 in Australia, 1 in New Zealand, 2 in Malaysia, 2 in Indonesia) – some of the brands are listed below:
Brand | Region served | Food or drink |
---|---|---|
The Complete Dairy | National | Milk |
Pura Milk | South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Northern Territory | Milk |
Dairy Farmers | New South Wales, Queensland | Milk, Yoghurt |
Big M | National except Western Australia | Flavoured Milk |
Dare Iced Coffee | National | Flavoured Milk |
Farmers Union | National | Iced Coffee, Yoghurt, Flavoured Milk |
Masters | Western Australia | Milk, Flavoured Milk |
King Island Dairy | National | Cheese |
Tasmanian Heritage | National | Cheese |
Yoplait | National | Yogurt |
Berri | National | Juice |
Daily Juice | National | Juice |
The Juice Brothers | National | Juice |
Vitasoy | National | Soy Milk, Oat Milk, Rice Milk |
YoGo | National except Western Australia | |
Zooper Dooper | National |
In early October 2009, National Foods gave evidence at an Australian Senate inquiry into milk prices; the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) was concerned because National Foods was paying Tasmanian farmers only 29 cents a litre for milk, about 10c/L below the amount it costs to produce the milk. [8]
San Miguel Corporation, abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate with headquarters in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally founded in 1890 as a brewery, San Miguel has ventured beyond its core business, with investments in various sectors such as food and drink, finance, infrastructure, oil and energy, transportation, and real estate.
Glanbia plc is an Irish global nutrition group with operations in 32 countries. It has leading market positions in sports nutrition, cheese, dairy ingredients, speciality non-dairy ingredients and vitamin and mineral premixes. Glanbia products are sold or distributed in over 130 countries. While Europe and the USA represent the biggest markets, the Group are continuing to expand into the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Glanbia's primary listing is on Euronext Dublin. The Group has four segments; Glanbia Nutritionals, Performance Nutrition, Glanbia Ireland and Joint Ventures & Associates, with a combined workforce of over 7,000 employees in 32 countries.
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational publicly traded dairy co-operative owned by New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exceeding NZ $22 billion, making it New Zealand's largest company. It is the sixth-largest dairy company in the world as of 2022, as well as the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
Meadow Fresh is a New Zealand dairy brand. It is owned by Goodman Fielder. The modern brand came into being as the result of a brand swap in September 2005 between Dairy Foods, owned by Graeme Hart, and New Zealand Milk, owned by Fonterra.
Yoplait is the world's largest franchise brand of yogurt. It is fully owned by French dairy cooperative Sodiaal since 2021.
Saputo Dairy UK, formerly Dairy Crest Limited, is a British dairy products company. It was created in 2019 when the Canadian company Saputo Inc bought Dairy Crest. Dairy Crest itself was created in 1981 as a spin-off of the Milk Marketing Board. Its brands include Saputo Dairy UK, Cathedral City Cheddar Cheese, Country Life Butter, Utterly Butterly, Vitalite and Clover.
Arla Foods Ltd is a major dairy products company in the United Kingdom, based in Leeds, and a subsidiary of Arla Foods, which is owned by its farmer owners in seven countries including the UK.
Vitasoy is a Hong Kong beverage company. It hosts a brand of beverages and desserts named Vita. Founded in 1940, it now operates under the Vitasoy International Holdings Limited. Its headquarters are in Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong.
Farmers Union is a brand name established by the South Australian Farmers' Co-operative Union Ltd (SAFU), and now owned by Bega Cheese
Dairy Farmers Pty Ltd, originally established in 1900, whose parent company is Australian-owned Bega Cheese, is distributed mainly in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. The core products sold under Dairy Farmers brand are fresh milk and UHT "long-life" milk, as well as various other dairy snacks. It supplies products to local and international markets such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in Columbus, Ohio, and focused primarily on pasta and pasta sauces, bakery products, snacks, processed cheese, jams and jellies, and ice cream. It was best known for its Borden Ice Cream, Meadow Gold milk, Creamette pasta, and Borden Condensed Milk brands. Its consumer products and industrial segment marketed wallpaper, adhesives, plastics and resins. By 1993, sales of food products accounted for 67 percent of its revenue. It was also known for its Elmer's and Krazy Glue brands.
Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive sour taste of yogurt. Like many types, strained yogurt is often made from milk enriched by boiling off some water content, or by adding extra butterfat and powdered milk. In Europe and North America, it is often made from low-fat or fat-free cow's milk. In Iceland, a similar product named skyr is made.
Big M is a brand of flavoured milk that was founded in Victoria, Australia, in 1977. It was launched by the Hawthorn-based and newly formed Victorian Dairy Industry Authority (VDIA), which replaced the more regulatory-oriented Victorian Milk Board. In November 2020, Australian company Bega Cheese purchased Lion Dairy & Drinks from Japan's Kirin Holdings, acquiring Big M and other notable brands from the Japanese entity. This acquisition followed an earlier attempt made by Mengniu Dairy to acquire the brand in November 2019, which was rejected by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Company Holdings Limited (WCB) is an Australian-based company manufacturing dairy products, majority-owned by Saputo Inc., a Canadian company, that manufactures a range of dairy products under various brands. The business is based in Allansford, Victoria and is the oldest dairy processor in Australia, having been established in 1888. It owns cheese brands CHEER and Cracker Barrel.
Lion is an alcoholic beverage company that operates in Australia and New Zealand, and a subsidiary of Japanese beverage conglomerate Kirin. It produces and markets a range of beer and cider in Australia, and wine in New Zealand and the United States through Distinguished Vineyards & Wine Partners. It acts as distributors for a range of spirits in New Zealand, but does not own any distilleries outright, although holding a 50% share of Four Pillars Gin in Victoria.
The Bega Group is an Australian diversified food and drinks company with manufacturing sites in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Founded as an agricultural cooperative in the town of Bega, New South Wales by their dairy suppliers, it became a public company in 2011 when it listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Close to half of shares publicly traded are still held by Bega's farmer-suppliers. It is currently one of the largest companies in the dairy sector in Australia, with a base milk supply in 2018 of approximately 750 million litres per annum.
First Milk is a dairy cooperative in Britain which manufactures cheese, specialist dairy ingredients and whey proteins for its customers, as well as providing traceable fresh milk to a range of dairy manufacturers and food processors. As a dairy co-operative, owned and run by farmers; the area covered by its milk pool runs from the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland down through England and Wales.
Granarolo S.p.A. is a food company in Italy founded in 1957 and based in Bologna. It operates in the fresh milk and dairy-cheese sector, dry pasta, deli meats and vegetable foods.
Zooper Doopers are a brand of flavoured frozen ice pole product from Australia. They generally come in a plastic tube packaging as a liquid. They are then frozen at home in the household freezer. Zooper Doopers are somewhat of a cultural icon and have been popular since they first appeared in 1971. They are produced by the Bega Dairy & Drinks, division of the Bega Cheese company.