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Entries for the 2026 Hive Awards are open, but the clock is ticking, with just 1 day left to get your entries in – the closing date is 13 March! There are nine awards up for grabs, with three new categories this year – Best New Food Product, Best New Beverage, and Best NPD. Go, go, go! Read more
Welcome to Food & Drink Business PLAY. Here are our top stories for February – from food safety and major retail scrutiny, to a big sustainability investment and a new global player backing an Australian beverage business.
Australians might be shopping in the same supermarkets, but we’re not shopping in the same way. New research from global product intelligence and consumer insights platform, Vypr, has revealed our shopping habits have never been more fragmented.
Over the past month, three international infant formula manufacturers have had to issue global recalls for specific product batches, due to the potential presence of the toxin cereulide. As investigations continue, more batches are being added to the list. Food safety is critical, particularly for vulnerable consumers, but who is responsible for ensuring products are up to standards?
The rapid rise of GLP-1 weight loss medications is driving profound changes in consumer behaviour overseas – and Australia’s retail sector should prepare now. New data from Circana shows GLP-1 uptake has already reached meaningful scale in Australia, with 12 per cent of households reporting at least one member using a GLP-1 medication, as of September 2025.
Australia’s beverage market is being reshaped by powerful demographic and behavioural forces that will define demand for decades. At Suntory’s Rituals event in Sydney, demographer Bernard Salt and Suntory Global Spirits Global VP of Insights and Analytics, Jing Mertoglu, outlined a converging story – one that positions Australia and New Zealand as two of the most strategically attractive beverage markets in the developed world.
Our Top 100 2025 edition of Food & Drink Business magazine is more than the annual flagship Top 100 Report. Industry leaders reflect on the year past and the one ahead, we provide our annual news review, M&A wrap-up, and all the executive moves, and a Roman-inspired sports drink, Posca, is our final Rising Star for 2025.
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.
Tasmanian agribusiness TasFoods has entered voluntary administration after failing to secure a buyer for its Nichols Poultry business. Partners from KPMG Australia – Tim Mableson, David Hardy and Emily Seeckts – have been appointed as joint and several voluntary administrators to the group.
Plans for the Turbine food and beverage pilot precinct on the Sunshine Coast have collapsed after the project failed to secure sufficient commercial support to meet key funding milestones.
Australia’s agricultural sector has received a major boost in its ability to measure and communicate environmental performance, with the release of an expanded national Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) dataset covering more than 1500 farm-gate products.
Nestlé Germany is testing cocoa-free chocolate alternatives in its confectionery portfolio, launching a new “Snack Vibes” line under its Choco Crossies brand made using ChoViva, a cocoa-free chocolate ingredient developed by German food-tech company Planet A Foods.
Victorian-based Aquafab has set sail, landing contracts with major cruise lines including Disney, Princess, Holland, Seabourn, Silversea, and Crystal. The company has just launched a capital raise through Birchal to continue its impressive growth journey, hoping to expand its national presence and make its way into bars throughout the US and UK.
The New South Wales government has awarded $1.1 million to All G through the latest round of its Biosciences Fund, and announced a new $20 million funding program to support companies developing high-tech innovations in New South Wales.
One year after commissioning its high-efficiency G3 oxyfuel furnace at the Gawler glass manufacturing site in South Australia, Orora says the installation is delivering substantial reductions in fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Des Pope, founder and chairman of Pope Packaging, has passed away. Pope established the South Australian packaging company in 1956, growing it from a small local operation into a global business.
The World Packaging Organisation has opened Pack’t Forum, a digital platform designed to connect packaging professionals worldwide to share knowledge and discuss industry challenges.
