Well, what a difference 10 days make. Roughly 10 days after we shipped June off to the printers, Sydney had a COVID-19 outbreak and the organisers of foodpro were forced to postpone the expo until October. Unavoidable but not ideal.
So, we’ve decided to look on our 30+ page foodpro preview as foodpro expo lite, the expo you have when you don’t have an actual expo to visit, walk around, touch things and meet people. It’s not quite the same but since the pandemic arrived, is anything? Start reading from page 34.
Our Cover Story this issue is SEW-Eurodrive and how its drive units can withstand the gruelling regime of high pressure washdowns and chemical cleaners. Its case-study with Hardwick Meatworks talks about its unprecedented reliability. From page 18
Editor’s Pick
Baking a new business
We get a peak inside The Arnott’s Group’s new business unit Good Food Partners facility in Melbourne and chat to the team who is building the new division. After its acquisitions of Freedom Foods’ Snacks and Cereals business, New Zealand gourmet crackers business 180degrees, and Diver Foods, Good Food Partners is already one of the largest producers of branded and private label muesli and snack bars. Read about it on page 22.
Change is Brewing
We talk to a group of women making waves in the brewing and distilling business in Australia. As Josh Gliddon was writing to story, news broke in the US of widespread harassment and sexism in the brewing industry. It seems no matter how tenacious and talented a woman is, there is always that additional factor they have to counter. And yet, here they are, running successful businesses while also making it a little easier for the women who follow. See page 20.
The next caffeine hit
With the sustained focus on reducing our food waste, a growing trend has been upcycling – using ingredients that traditionally wouldn’t have been used for human consumption. Our Rising Star this month is I am Grounded, which is using the by-product of coffee bean production to create snack bars. It turns out we’re wasting about 20 billion kilograms of coffee fruit a year that could be used in food production. That’s from page 8.
Show wrap
There’s a full rundown of the 2021 Packaging Innovation & Design Awards on pages 10 and 32, as well as our picks from the Naturally Good expo (page 14).
