A consolidated and rebranded grower-owned macadamia company will be the world’s largest macadamia processor and marketer. Marquis Macadamias will grow, process and sell 48 per cent of Australia’s macadamia production and be responsible for 22 per cent of global kernel sales. It will also handle more than 16 per cent of nut in shell (NIS) world production.
The new company brings together Lismore’s Macadamia Processing Company (MPC), its wholly owned subsidiary, Bundaberg’s Pacific Gold Macadamias (PGM), and its marketing company Brisbane’s Macadamia Marketing International (MMI), which is jointly owned with South Africa’s Global Macadamias.
CEO Larry McHugh said bringing the companies under one brand will consolidate its world’s largest position. The group aims to double turnover from $250 million in 2019 to $500 million by 2024.
McHugh told Food & Drink Business: “It was very clunky having different entities, this gives us economies of scale. Rebranding will allow the group to pursue product development, product extension and value-adding opportunities globally. Globally, the crop is growing rapidly – it has nearly tripled since 2006 – and our main focus is to keep developing markets.
“Macadamias are renowned for their buttery flavour and soft crunch texture. Put macadamias into any product and it becomes a premium product. One of our key opportunities will be increasing our value-adding products as well as developing our own brand for retail,” he said.
“There is no end to the opportunities for value-adding, from flavours such as wasabi, to mixed nuts, and ingredients for cookies and ice cream. Over the next five years the group’s marketing arm will strengthen our push into other products and product extensions beyond macadamias.
“It’s about creating a sustainable business for growers by stimulating global demand for macadamias.”
Grower owned diversity
Bringing South Africa’s Global Macadamias into the company has a number of benefits, he said. Initially, it will add 15,000 tonnes of NIS and 2500 tonnes of kernel to the group’s production. It also ensures access to growers worldwide and importantly adds regional diversity to the supply chain.
“Sourcing our macadamias from two continents reduces our exposure to drought and other seasonal variabilities that affect supply. It’s about creating a sustainable business for growers by stimulating global demand for macadamias,” McHugh said.
Marquis Macadamias will remain 100 per cent grower owned and run, with all profits from the business flowing back to growers. For McHugh, this is crucial for the clean, green and premium status of macadamias.
“It is important for us to control the process from the grower all the way to the customer to show the ‘farm-to-fork traceability’ of our nuts,” he said.
A core component of the brand’s clean, green credentials has been investment in sustainability measures.
The company uses every part of the nut: husks as organic matter back into the farms; shells as fuel; and stock feed to macadamia oil for use in cosmetics and cooking oils.
Time to upgrade
Investment in technology is a big focus for Marquis to meet increased supply and demand and processing volumes. Continuous improvements in its factories aim to keep labour costs down as well as minimising damage to the kernel during processing.
“This year, we’ve already invested AU$2 million at our Lismore facility to upgrade the cracking room to double throughput,” McHugh told F&DB. “Over the years machinery in the cracking room has been added to, but this year we have gutted it and started again. We are very lucky to have engineers on staff who design equipment specific to our needs, which is then built by local businesses.”
AU$1.5 million has been spent at its Bundaberg plant on colour sorters and grading technology.
“Over the past five years we’ve also invested AU$4 million into Napasol pasteurisation technology at both Lismore and Bundaberg processing plants. Marquis is the only macadamia processor to use Napasol technology to ensure the safety and quality of our nut products and meet customer expectations particularly in the US and EU.
“Global Macadamias will be installing a Napasol unit in its new US$20 million South African processing plant, which is the biggest in the world,” McHugh said.
With some additional equipment, the South African plant has the capacity to process up 30,000 tonnes a year, with plans for the Lismore and Bundaberg plants to produce 20-25,000 tonnes each per year, up from 15,000 tonnes per year per facility.
