• The sale of Freedom Foods Group’s Cereals and Snacks business to The Arnott’s group has been completed. The sale was announced in December, just weeks after reporting on its “deeply disappointing” FY20 $175 million loss.
    The sale of Freedom Foods Group’s Cereals and Snacks business to The Arnott’s group has been completed. The sale was announced in December, just weeks after reporting on its “deeply disappointing” FY20 $175 million loss.
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Freedom Foods Group has extended its voluntary suspension from trading to 30 November. The company extended its suspension to 30 October on 9 July when the scale of its inventory write-downs and bad debts were being realised.

Since then Michael Perich - the Perich family own 54 per cent of the business - has been installed as interim CEO and lender support secured from HSBC, NAB and Arrovest as the board undertakes a recapitalisation plan.

It’s also now being sued for US$16 million by US almond growers’ group Blue Diamond Growers in the US.

 

 

Packaging News

A shared sense of joy and purpose prevailed at the 2026 PKN Women in Packaging Awards cocktail event, held at Quarterhouse, Melbourne, on 25 June. Congratulations to all winners and finalists, your contribution to the Australasian packaging industry is applauded.

Industry leaders have renewed calls for national packaging reform, warning that Australia's manufacturing resilience, recycling investment and sovereign capability remain vulnerable without policy action to create demand for locally recycled content and provide a more level competitive playing field.

Ball & Doggett has appointed Paul Cruickshank as national manager, cartonboard packaging, taking responsibility for the company’s cartonboard packaging portfolio across Australia.