The Ben Buckler Whisky Company has appointed Kristy Bloomfield as CEO and co-founder, bringing senior leadership experience from Lyre’s Spirit Co and Sullivans Cove Distillery as the business plans for a major expansion.

Global flavours and fragrance company, Givaudan, is closing its Australian manufacturing site and moving it offshore. The closure will be implemented over 18 months and will see the loss of around 66 jobs.

Asahi Beverages has turned the first sod on a $150 million distribution centre at Redbank, south-east Queensland, the second site in a three-part national program to modernise its supply chain network.

Roma Food Products CEO, Sam Schachna, is stepping down from the role after leading the company for more than six years. The business will continue operating under managing director, Max Buontempo.

Trends and innovation in the global food and beverage sector are being shaped by a volatile economic and geopolitical environment, changing consumer lifestyles, and rapid advances in nutrition science.

Western Australian produce companies, Fruitico Pty Ltd and Fresh Express Produce Pty Ltd, have each paid the maximum penalty of $99,000 for alleged breaches of the Horticulture Code – which the federal government recently initiated an independent review for after almost a decade without update.

The federal government has invested an additional $55.8 million through the 2026 budget to address border and biosecurity threats from illegal foreign fishing in Australia’s northern waters.

Treasury Wine Estates has unveiled TWE Ascent, a multi-year transformation program that will more than halve its brand portfolio, exit commercial wine segments and consolidate investment behind Penfolds, DAOU and Matua as its global ‘Power Brands’.

Maggie Beer Holdings has received a non-binding offer to sell its Hampers and Gifts Australia business to an unnamed multinational buyer – at a fraction of the price it paid five years ago.

Historically, the default pathway for Australian food manufacturers has been predictable – once your brand builds sales domestically, you look to international markets, like the United States or Europe for growth. Roma Foods founder and managing director, Max Buontempo, notes the industry is shifting, and offers insight for the current playing field.

Poultry and food producer, TasFoods, and its subsidiaries – including Nichols Poultry – have been acquired by RAMP Tasmania Poultry. The sale ensures the continued local operation of TasFoods and the employment of all Tasmanian staff.

The winners of the 2026 World Drinks Awards have been announced, with several Australian distillers recognised across a range of categories – including Prohibition Liquor Co, Fnq Rum Co, New Norfolk Distillery, Reef Distillers and Never Never.

The Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania (RAST) has launched its inaugural 2026 Royal Tasmanian Whisky & Spirits Awards, supported by Lark Distillery founder and industry veteran, Bill Lark, as Patron of the Awards.

Lion has proposed to move production of James Boag beers out of Tasmania, with a plan announced to close the James Boag’s Brewery in Launceston in November, driven by long-term decline in the national beer market.

Global seafood supplier, Safcol Australia, has broken ground on its new $80 million purpose-built food manufacturing facility in Edinburgh, South Australia – expected to deliver double the production capacity of the company’s current site.

The federal government has released its formal response to the Senate Select Committee on Supermarket Prices, rejecting calls for forced divestiture powers while advancing a suite of supplier protections, pricing regulations and competition reforms.