History
The Muffin Break concept originated in Canada in the 1970s but was acquired by Foodco and refined for contemporary conditions. [3] The first of the new style Muffin Break stores opened in 1989 in Coolangatta, Queensland. [4]
The first Muffin Break store in New Zealand opened in Auckland in 1994. [5] Muffin Break entered the UK market in 2001. [6]
In December 2015, a partnership was made between Foodco and Croc's Playcentres, an Australian family entertainment centre franchise. The partnership saw Muffin Break cafes included in all new Croc's Playcentres and existing Croc's franchisees given the opportunity to convert their cafes to Muffin Break cafes. [7]
Labour practices
In 2014, an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman found a 24-year-old student working at two franchised Victorian stores had been underpaid almost $20,000. The store owners agreed to repay the employee and entered into an enforceable undertaking with the Ombudsman. [8] [9]
In 2016, the former owners of a franchised Hobart store were investigated by the Ombudsman and found to have underpaid two employees over $46,000 between April 2014 and December 2015. The store owners agreed to repay the employees and entered into an enforceable undertaking with the Ombudsman. [10] [11]
On 23 February 2019, Muffin Break General Manager made headlines when she spoke about young people not wanting to work unpaid internships, telling a journalist: "There's just nobody walking in my door asking for an internship, work experience or unpaid work, nobody." These comments were later refuted by the journalist who wrote the original story as being misinterpreted "She never said she expected all of her employees to work for free, as many online seem to be suggesting, only that those who put themselves forward to do unpaid work were more likely to get a job". [12]
In September 2019, the Australian Fair Work Ombudsman found that franchisees of Jamaica Blue and Muffin Break cafés had underpaid 166 employees a total of over $26,000. [13]
In April 2023, Wage Inspectorate Victoria charged a Muffin Break franchise in Melbourne with 360 child labour offenses relating to three employees under the age of 15. [14]
Animal Welfare
FoodCo, the owner of Muffin Break, does not issue any kind of Sustainability Report, nor do they have any kind of Animal Welfare policy in place. [15]
Cage-free eggs
In October 2024, FoodCo has released a statement where they claim they are “committed to the ongoing evolution of our supply chain, to ensure that we are operating sustainably, and with our corporate social responsibility at front of mind”. [16]
Further, they claim they are committed to sourcing eggs from cage-free sources 100% by 2030 in their network. However, they do not require their franchise partners the same. This allows majority of the stores operating under their brands, e.g. Muffin Break and Jamaica Blue, to use caged eggs without any repercussions.
Dozens of leading food and coffee retail businesses in Australia and globally have already committed to using only cage-free eggs, such as Retail Food Group. [17]
This means that Muffin Break still continues to use eggs from caged-egg farms with no commitment to change. [18]
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