A blend of salt, red wine vinegar, and water – known as Posca – was the ‘original sports drink’, helping to keep the soldiers of the Roman Empire marching up to 30 kilometres per day. Keira Joyce spoke with Posca Hydrate co-founders, Merrick Watts and Ed Stening, about reviving a 2000-year-old functional beverage for the modern healthy lifestyle.

From the big deals to the quiet divestments, Food & Drink Business editor, Kim Berry, recounts the mergers and acquisitions of 2025.

It was a tough year for many with little relief from the pressures weighing on the sector since Covid. Editor Kim Berry provides this snapshot of the year that was.

Australia’s native food industry has received a boost – with Indigenous-owned Cooee Foods Australia acquiring native ingredients suppliers, Creative Native Foods – placing it under First Nations ownership for the first time in its 25 years.

The Top 10 remained a stable list this year, with five companies holding their position – Fonterra (#1), JBS (#2), Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (#3), Asahi (#4), and Thomas Foods International (#7). The biggest change was Treasury Wine Estates dropping out of the list, from #10 to #13.

Food & Drink Business and IBISWorld present this year’s Top 100 companies, a ranking of Australia’s largest food and drink companies by revenue. This year reflects a sector positioning itself for immediate term viability and long-term competitiveness.

The surge in usage of ‘GLP-1’-style weight loss medications is seeing a “ripple effect” begin to unfold, impacting eating patterns in a number of countries around the world, Rabobank says in recently released research.

Fonterra has reported total group profit after tax of $278 million for 1Q26, up $15 million on the same period last year, as the co-op now pushes ahead with its multi-year business reshaping and the divestment of Mainland Group.

The federal government has announced an additional $10 million in funding support for Australia’s wine and cider industry, through the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grants program, which is now on its seventh round.

As Australian brands evaluate their export priorities for 2026 and beyond, one message from Asia Pacific distributors is coming through loud and clear: the opportunity is real, but the bar to entry has never been higher. Every year, Incite invites 4200 APAC food and beverage distributors to share their insights on the sector. Cameron Gordon from incite looks at this year's findings.

The Arnott’s Group has appointed Alison Merner as its new chief people officer. The company stated she will lead the company’s People & Culture strategy across Australia and the Asia Pacific region, with a focus on building capability.

Mitolo Family Farms has appointed John Tselekidis to the newly created role of chief commercial officer. He has been at the company for six years, most recently as the group’s head of sales and marketing.

If 2025 taught Australian brands anything, it’s that many growth pockets exist throughout an Australian FMCG industry exhibiting patchy performance. Circana insights director Australia, Daniel Bone, discusses what trends the market research company is seeing, and how food and drink brands can come out on top in 2026.

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has warned it will take a significant non-cash impairment against its Americas business, with the company preparing to write off at least all US goodwill valued at $687.4 million as at June 2025.

Maggie Beer Holdings (MBH) chair Mark Lindh has used the company’s 2025 AGM to lay out a clearer path for stabilising and rebuilding the business, telling shareholders the group has “earned the right to grow” after a year of intense restructuring, cost-cutting and strategic refocus.

Winners of the 63rd annual Australian Export Awards were announced in Canberra on 26 November, featuring several food and beverage industry success stories – including Marquis Macadamias, Almondco Australia, and Munda Wines.