Keg rental business Kegstar is set to merge with keg logistics firm MicroStar. The deal will see 15 per cent owned by Brambles and 85 per cent by MicroStar shareholders.

Construction has begun on Circular Plastics Australia PET, the $45 million joint venture between Asahi Beverages, Pact Group and Cleanaway Waste Management that was announced in August 2020.

Soulfresh has appointed Michael Davies as chief marketing officer. Davies was previously director of Mars Wrigley M&A and Ventures in the US, and prior to that, marking director UK for Mars.

Wine tech company Cellr will be the technology partner with the Barossa Grape and Wine Association (BGWA) for its 2021 Barossa Wine Auction, the association says.

Indigenous-owned non-alcoholic brewery Sobah is taking its craft and storytelling to new heights in 2021. Sobah co-founder Dr Clinton Schultz speaks with Doris Prodanovic.

The Arnott’s Group has acquired Diver Foods as part of its growth strategy into the cereal and snacks market. In December, it acquired the cereal and snacks business from Freedom Foods for $20 million.

Former director of National Dairy Products Violetta Esposito has been disqualified from managing companies for five years, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission has ruled.

India is fast becoming an export alternative to China. Scotchman’s Hill winery has teamed up with cricketing legend, Dennis Lillee, to launch a new wine label in India and Sri Lanka.

In late 2020, China imposed severe tariffs on Australian wine. Asia Wine Hub founder Jeremy Oliver asks, what now?

Huon Aquaculture Group says challenging market conditions, declining international salmon prices and stock losses will mean its projected earrings for FY2021 will be substantially lower than FY2020.

Baby food brand Funch has launched its Tmall Global store to sell directly to Chinese consumers. Tmall Global is owned by the Alibaba Group and is China’s largest cross-border marketplace.

In 2020, Foodbank obtained almost 49 million kilograms of food and groceries for people in need, an increase of nearly 15 per cent on 2019 and equal to 87.9 million meals.

Happy New Year! Sure, it’s February but the year is still young. This time last year there were rumours of a virus impacting China, but an optimism it would all be sorted out by the end of Chinese New Year. It was a simpler time. We have a cracker of an issue for you to get the year underway.

Sanitarium Health Food Company has joined the Future Food Systems CRC consortium and will work with the UNSW to improve the functional properties of its Barista dairy-free milk range.

Fonterra and science and nutritional specialist Royal DSM are working on reducing on-farm greenhouse gas emissions by reducing methane emissions from cows.

Asahi Beverages has appointed Roland van Bommel as chair of Asahi Holdings Australia (AHA). He joined the board in 2013 and has been acting chair since December, when Peter Margin resigned.