Bulla Dairy Foods

Last updated

Bulla Dairy Foods
Company typePrivately owned
FounderThomas Sloan
HeadquartersDerrimut, Victoria
Key people
Allan Hood (CEO)
Website http://www.bulla.com.au/

Bulla Dairy Foods is an Australian dairy company that manufactures a national and export range of ice cream, table cream, yoghurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, and imitation cream under various brands. The business was established in 1910 and subsequently became a partnership among three inter-related families, who still continue to own and operate the business. The company's name was established from the origin of place in Victoria, Australia and the business has continued for more than 100 years. Bulla Dairy Foods has expanded internationally, exporting its products to 17 countries, as well as supplying their products nationally within Australia to supermarket retailers. The company employs more than 600 people across three manufacturing sites across Victoria in Colac, Dandenong, and Mulgrave and a head office and distribution centre in Derrimut, Melbourne. [1] In 2015, Bulla Dairy Foods released a new campaign with the tagline "Unfakeable" to emphasise the company's Australian heritage. [2]

Contents

History

Founding

Bulla dairy Foods was founded in 1910 by Thomas Sloan, in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, as the Bulla Cream Company. William Sloan, the brother of Thomas, owned a farm in Bulla and provided the milk used to make the cream. [3] Thomas had developed a new method of thickening cream by burning wood, creating heat to pasteurise the cream in copper cans. [3] The product was distributed by horse and cart, and the copper cans were draped with wet bags to keep them cool during transportation. [4] In 1914, Thomas Sloan's brother in law, Hugh Anderson, became a partner in the business. In 1918, Hugh Anderson's brother Jack also joined Bulla Cream company. [4] Thus the company was operated by three interrelated families. The responsibilities of the business operations were split among the three men, marketing and product distribution were the responsibility of Jack Anderson and Thomas Sloan, while Hugh Anderson was responsible for production. [4] The name Bulla came from the origin of the place, where the milk was initially supplied by Sloan's brother. His farm was in Bulla, a town North West of Melbourne. The copper cans filled with cream were transported to Moonee Pond and had the label ‘Bulla’, so the company's name was unintentionally created. [3]

Murray Street, Colac, Victoria, where Bulla has sold and produced ice cream ColacMurrayStreet.JPG
Murray Street, Colac, Victoria, where Bulla has sold and produced ice cream

In 1914, the first expansion of the company included the purchase of a butter factory in Drysdale, south west of Melbourne. In 1921, the business bought land to build their first factory in the Western district town of Colac and by 1922, the butter factory in Drysdale was sold and the operations and manufacturing were moved to Colac. [3] [5] Bulla had initially started the business in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne and in 1928, Bulla purchased a premise in Arden St, North Melbourne to become their new headquarters, this site would hold the manufacturing of the cream bottling plant and distribution and head office. [5] By 1929, Bulla had begun to produce ice cream from their factory on Murray Street in Colac, Victoria. In the following year, an ice factory was purchased by Bulla in Colac that produced Regal Ice Cream. Regal Ice cream was produced by Bulla and in 2004, Regal ice cream was discontinued and rebadged as Bulla. [6] The business has primarily focused on portraying the image of Bulla as a family business and in the late 1990s the company began to hire senior members of the business who were not descendants of the three founding families. [4] In 2000, a 6,400 square metre site on Forest St was planned for construction in Colac for manufacturing their dairy products and the plant was operational by 2003. [7]

Recent developments

In 2009, Bulla purchased the remainder of the ice cream business that Fonterra sold to Nestle and they also purchased the Brownes tub ice cream range in Western Australia. [3] By 2014, Bulla had received an Australian Cadbury ice cream licence, that allowed the company to produce Cadbury Marvelous Creations ice cream. [8] The licensing rights included production, distribution and marketing of the ice cream in Australia. [8] In May 2014, Bulla Dairy Foods entered into a partnership with the Australian Dairy Farmers Cooperation (ADFC). They supply fresh milk to Bulla daily and other locations in Victoria. [9]   In 2015, the company announced the launch of a new advertising campaign that would signify Bulla's Australian origins and heritage. [10]   The tagline included the phrase "Unfakeable”, to highlight Bulla's 105 years of production. [10] The advertising campaign included two television commercials that advertised their cream and ice cream products. [10] In 2017, Bulla Dairy foods moved to a direct farm supply of milk, instead of receiving it externally from a third party. [10] In June of the same year, Bulla announced that it would be adopting a new Country of Origin labelling, to show support for Australian farmers and to highlight the company's Australian heritage. [11] In January 2020, Bulla released a range of ice cream entitled ‘Murray Street’. This range was to commemorate making ice cream on Murray Street in Colac, Victoria for more than 90 years. [12]

Operations

Bulla Dairy Foods employs more than 600 people within Victoria, Australia and has grown to an international level, exporting their products to 17 countries. The company's head office is located in Derrimut, Melbourne and the manufacturing sites are in Colac, Dandenong and Mulgrave, Victoria. [1]

Production

Bulla Dairy Foods carries 160 units of stock keeping and this stock is produced and manufactured in a seven-day cycle. Bulla's supply of milk is directly sourced from Australia and the company uses specific methods of pasteurising milk using ultra heat treatment. [1] Bulla's main manufacturing sites are in Colac, Victoria, Mulgrave, Victoria and Dandenong, Victoria where the company has employed more than 450 people in those two sites. In their production site, Bulla has introduced two MTU onsite energy cogeneration modules, due to a grant from the Australian Governments Clean technology food and Foundries investment program. [13] This instalment provides 80 per cent of the power requirement for its frozen dairy manufacturing plant in Colac. The instalment of the cogeneration modules was aimed to improve the company's ecological footprint and reduce energy costs. Prior to the instalment of this module, the manufacturing site at Colac used 86 percent of electricity and 11 percent of natural gas. [13] Bulla is a member of the Australian Packaging Covenant, which is an organisation to limit environmental impacts of product packaging, this includes recyclable packaging. [14] In May 2019, Bulla Dairy foods had a set price of milk solids at 7 dollars per kilogram and in the following month the company moved to a price of $7.20 per kilogram. The increase was a result of a greater competition for milk in the current market. Bulla Dairy Foods has more than 100 suppliers within Victoria and this provides more than 1 million litres of milk. [15]

International Exports

Bulla Dairy Foods has annual gross sales of approximately $400 million and is the largest selling branded cream in Australia. [16] Bulla has an international presence in many southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, and China. These overseas exports contribute to approximately five per cent of Bulla's yearly profit and international export revenues are about five to ten million dollars. [16] [17] The company has introduced their dairy range into the Chinese market, with Bulla's frozen products being sold in stores in China and also on two online food retail platforms. In the Chinese market, Bulla has sold their products in both convenience stores and grocery supermarkets with approximately 800 million people having access to the online platforms. [17]

Products

Bulla Dairy Foods products are sold in a variety of stores and grocery supermarkets nationally in Australia and internationally. This range of dairy products includes; Bulla's ‘Creamy Classics’ tub ice cream, Ice cream sticks, Bulla's ‘Double Cream’ made with 45% Milk fat, [18] pure, thick and light cream in tubs, flavoured and natural Yogurt tubs [19] and low fat cottage cheese. [5]

Bulla has introduced dairy products to cater for nutritional intake such as products that are 97% fat free, products that are low in sugar and have no artificial additives and colouring, including a “School Approved Range” to cater for school kids. Bulla produces their products in a range of sizes including individual portions for yogurt and larger family portions. Bulla dairy foods target their products to people including school children and families. [19] In April 2012, Bulla launched their Dollop Cream Portions product. [20]

Ice cream

Bulla's ‘Creamy Classics’ tub ice cream increased their percentage of customers who bought ice cream, in 2015 it was 12.5% and increased to 16.6% four years later. The overall purchasing of Bulla's ice cream has decreased, in 2015, 32.2% of ice cream buyers purchased Bulla. In 2019, this has decreased 30.9%. As of 2019, Bulla is the leading brand of ice cream bought by Australian ice cream buyers. [21]

In 2018, Bulla dairy foods introduced Cinnamon Donut flavoured ice cream sticks, as well as a limited edition Bulla crunch variety with the addition of 2 new milkshake flavours; blue heaven and tangy pineapple. [22]

Food safety

In July 2019, the New South Wales Food Authority recalled Bulla's ‘Ready to Decorate Ice Cream Cake Base’ for the presence of soy, an undeclared allergen. The cake was sold in Australian grocery retailers and there was concern for consumer allergies and was deemed a food safety hazard. [23]  

Markets

Bulla exports their products to locations around the world [5] including; New Guinea, Fiji, China, [24] Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong.

Awards and recognition

In 2012, Bulla's Dollop Cream Portions was awarded the ‘best new foodservice product’, for relevance and innovation at the Fine Food Australia Show. [25] In 2013, Bulla won the grand champion dairy product from Dairy Australia for their premium sour cream. [24] Bulla was named the best food producer by the Royal Agricultural society in 2014 and the company also received a President's Medal. [26] In 2016, Bulla Dairy Foods received the DTS Food Laboratories Award from The Dairy Industry Association of Australia for their sour cream 200mL for its use of dip, cream and dessert. The sour cream was given 19.33 points out of 20. In the same year, the association gave an award for Judges Choice for Bulla's Fairy Bread ice cream due to its creativity. [27] In the same year, Bulla's Creme Fraiche won the grand champion dairy product from Dairy Australia. [24]  In 2018, Bulla's Creamy Classics Ice Cream Sandwich was voted product of the year by the Consumer Survey of Product innovation. [28] In 2019 and 2020 Bulla was a finalist recipient for a people's choice award from The Australian Grand Dairy Awards, they were placed in their top three category for best cream for their ‘double cream’ product. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peters Ice Cream</span> Australian ice cream brand

Peters Ice Cream is an Australian ice cream brand, now a subsidiary of European food firm Froneri. It was originally developed by an expatriate American, Frederick (Fred) Augustus Bolles Peters in 1907, using his mother's recipe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fonterra</span> New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cool Whip</span> American whipped topping brand

Cool Whip is an American brand of whipped topping manufactured by Kraft Heinz. It is used in North America as a topping for desserts, and in some no-bake pie recipes as a convenience food or ingredient that does not require physical whipping and can maintain its texture without melting over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreyer's</span> American ice cream manufacturer

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc. ("Dreyer's"), is an American ice cream company, founded in 1928 in Oakland, California, where its present-day headquarters office remains. The company's two signature brands, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream and Edy's Grand Ice Cream, are named after its founders, William Dreyer and Joseph Edy. The Dreyer's brand is sold in the Western United States and Texas, while the Edy's brand is sold in the Eastern and Midwestern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant milk</span> Milk-like drink made from plant-based ingredients

Plant milk is a plant beverage with a color resembling that of milk. Plant milks are non-dairy beverages made from a water-based plant extract for flavoring and aroma. Plant milks are consumed as alternatives to dairy milk, and may provide a creamy mouthfeel.

Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy (Group) Limited by Share Ltd. is a Chinese manufacturing and distribution company of dairy products and ice cream. The company is headquartered in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia and manufactures dairy products under the Mengniu brand.

Farmers Union is a brand name established by the South Australian Farmers' Co-operative Union Ltd (SAFU), and now owned by Bega Cheese

Bega Dairy & Drinks is a subsidiary of Australian diversified food company the Bega Group, having been purchased from the Japanese company Kirin in November 2020. While owned by Kirin, it was known as Lion Dairy & Drinks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnott's Group</span> Australian snack food manufacturer

Arnott's Group is an Australian producer of biscuits and snack food. Founded in 1865 by William Arnott, they are the largest producer of biscuits in Australia and a subsidiary of KKR.

Mövenpick Ice Cream is a brand of ice cream of Swiss origin produced initially by Nestlé. Since 2016, Froneri - a joint venture between Nestlé and R&R Ice Cream - manufactures it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tip Top (ice cream)</span> Ice cream brand in New Zealand

Tip Top is an ice cream brand founded in 1936 in Wellington, New Zealand, and now owned by Froneri. It was formerly known as Fonterra Brands Ltd, a subsidiary of the Fonterra Co-operative Group based in Auckland, New Zealand.

Choc-tops are chocolate-dipped ice-cream popular in both Australia and New Zealand and traditionally eaten at the cinema. In some dialects choc bombs refers to the hard chocolate covered ice cream at the cinema whereas choc tops are the soft serve version thereof and dispensed from ice cream vans such as Mr Whippy.

Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co. Limited was a dairy-processing co-operative corporation. In 2018, following financial difficulties and difficulties with suppliers over sustainable prices, the business assets were sold to Saputo Inc, a publicly-listed Canadian dairy company and later the trading name of the business was changed to AG Warehouse. The co-operative was placed into liquidation in 2020.

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.

Oak is an Australian pasteurised flavoured milk brand owned by a French multinational corporation, Lactalis. It was first established in 1967 in New South Wales, as the general dairy brand of the Raymond Terrace Co-operative and its successor the Hunter Valley Co-operative Dairy Company. The origin of the Oak brand goes back to 1903. Oak flavoured milk was launched in Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria in 1998. It was discontinued in Victoria in 2006 but relaunched in 2010. Oak launched in Western Australia in October 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The a2 Milk Company</span> New Zealand dairy company

The a2 Milk Company Limited is a dual listed NZX and ASX 50 public listed company that commercialises intellectual property relating to A1 protein-free milk that is sold under the a2 and a2 Milk brands, as well as the milk and related products such as infant formula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bega Group</span> Australian cheese manufacturer

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherbet (frozen dessert)</span> Frozen dessert

Sherbet, often referred to as sherbert, is a frozen dessert made from water, sugar, a dairy product such as cream or milk, and a flavoring – typically fruit juice or purée, wine, liqueur, and occasionally non-fruit flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, or peppermint. It is similar to, but distinct from sorbet, which lacks dairy.

Binggrae Co., Ltd., is a South Korean food and beverage corporation that manufactures ice cream, milk products, and snacks. Binggrae was founded in 1967 by Hong Soon-ji as Daeil Corporation. The B in the Binggrae Logo is modeled after a heart.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Levels of Mechanisation and Operation". The Food Processing and Manufacturing Industry. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Bulla spruiks its heritage in 'unfakeable' campaign - Food & Drink Business". www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Australian food history timeline - Bulla Dairy Foods founded". Australian food history timeline. 16 September 1910. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gray, Darren (21 May 2010). "Celebrating 100 years of making its whey in the world". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Empire of Arden Street". Hotham History Project. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "Bulla unveils cool taste of Murray St". www.weeklytimesnow.com.au. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "Bulla Dairy Foods Greenfields Cream & Yoghurt Plant". Metromotion. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Bulla Dairy gets a Cadbury ice cream licence | Australian Food News". www.ausfoodnews.com.au. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "Our Partners - Bulla". Australian Dairy Farmers Corporation. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Bulla promotes its Australian origins in new advertising campaign | Australian Food News". www.ausfoodnews.com.au. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  11. ↑ Staff, Support (8 June 2017). "Bulla Dairy Foods to adopt new Country of Origin Labelling | Food & Beverage" . Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "New Bulla Murray St crowned cream of the crop at Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Competition | Australian Food News". www.ausfoodnews.com.au. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  13. 1 2 "Bulla Dairy Foods, Colac – Victoria" (PDF). Final Bulla Dairy Case Study.
  14. ↑ "Impact on the environment- Case study on Bulla and Murray Goulburn". The Australian Dairy Industry.
  15. ↑ "Bulla pushes price above $7". Dairy News Australia. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  16. 1 2 "Impact on the Economy". The Food Processing and Manufacturing Industry. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  17. 1 2 Gillespie, Kyra (11 October 2019). "Cream rises to the top: Small city gives embattled industry hope". The Standard. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  18. 1 2 "2019 Australian Grand Dairy Awards Champions". peopleschoiceaward.legendairy.com.au. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  19. 1 2 "Consumer Influences". The Food Processing and Manufacturing Industry. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "Bulla Dairy Foods wins 'best new foodservice product' award". QSR Media. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  21. ↑ "Fewer grocery buyers buy tubs of ice cream, but Weis, Connoisseur and Bulla Creamy Classics are stable winners". Roy Morgan. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  22. ↑ Creagh, Ben (7 November 2018). "Bulla introduces ice cream bars and donut ice cream sticks | Food & Beverage" . Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  23. ↑ "Popular ice cream a 'food safety hazard'". NewsComAu. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  24. 1 2 3 "Hall of Fame". www.dairy.com.au. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  25. ↑ "Bulla Dairy Foods wins 'best new foodservice product' award". QSR Media. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  26. ↑ "Bulla wins President's Medal". www.abc.net.au. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  27. ↑ "Bulla scoops up dairy awards". www.foodprocessing.com.au. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  28. ↑ says, TUYET TRAN. "Bulla Creamy Classics Ice Cream Sandwich | Product Of The Year" . Retrieved 29 May 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.