While there have been similar Black Swan events before, it would be a mistake to not to think through the differences and the different actions needed in this COVID-19 pandemic. Crisis communications expert John Connolly outlines what boards and management need to do now.

Since Food & Drink Business’ first COVID-19 industry briefing on 12 February, the food and beverage landscape in Australia has altered faster and more dramatically than anyone predicted.

At a time when everything is upside down, we bring you the latest edition of Food & Drink Business, packed full of stories to inspire and inform.

Vegetable growers’ industry body AUSVEG has welcomed McDonald’s announcement it will display the country of origin of ingredients in its meals. Fast food outlets are exempt from mandatory country of origin labelling, which was introduced in 2018.

PepsiCo Australia has donated $480,000 to Foodbank Australia, as well as pledging $72 million globally, to help those facing food insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than $250,000 has been raised by donations and everyday shoppers to help Australian beekeepers and their honey bees, as part of the Hive Aid campaign.

The a2 Milk Company is anticipating ongoing revenue growth across key regions with its FY20 outlook now in the range of NZ$1.7-1.75 billion after its 3Q20 results were “above expectations”.

Unilever ANZ has announced it’s donating more than $2 million worth of essential food, home and personal care products to Foodbank. The announcement also marked the return to Unilever’s Lifebuoy sanitiser brand to Australia.

Beverage company Australian Product Research (APR) is the first manufacturer in the world with exclusive rights to make branded water and sports drinks for boxing and fitness brand Everlast. It comes after APR completed a $5 million capital raise.

With more complex commercial ecosystems, the ways businesses supply produce need to be digitally enabled. George Stancu and Vidhya Thangarajan from PwC’s Tech Consulting practice share their insights.

Australia is preparing to face unprecedented challenges in the energy and water sector as it attempts to curb the impact of climate change. Hydroflux director Andrew Miley writes.

Since the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre opened its Manufacturing Response Register on 25 March, more than 2000 businesses and individuals have lodged their expression of interest.

Carlton & United Breweries and Lion have secured thousands of litres of tap beer from being tipped down the drain as pubs begin to sell the beer to consumers in resealable bottles, known as squealers and growlers.

The federal government's latest ABARES Insights report says Australia is one of the most food secure countries in the world, despite the severe drought season and recent food item shortages due to COVID-19.

Metcash has launched a $330 million capital raising to strengthen the support of its retail network, as well as complete three bolt-on acquisitions worth $45 million.

In a “highly unusual” 1Q2020, Coca-Cola Amatil reported a 15 per cent drop in earnings for the period and a beverage volume plunge of 30 per cent in April due to COVID-19.