Bruce Edward established Ferndale at Ballarat in regional Victoria in 1995 after an 18-year career at a global confectionery company.
Fast forward 21 years and Ferndale – the only mainstream confectionery company remaining in Australia that is 100 per cent family-owned – now holds around 12 per cent of the gums and rolls (or “pocket packet”) market.
The focus now is on growing the business in other markets. Ferndale already exports to the US, New Zealand, Cypress, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, the Maldives, South Korea and Japan, as well as quite a few other markets. But the vision is growing bigger.
Along with the US, China is Ferndale’s second key market, and the target of strategy and focus. It’s also one of the newest.
The company sent its first container there in October 2015, and has been doing well since then.
Ferndale's point of difference is that its sugar-free products are approved by the Australian Diabetes Foundation.
While Ferndale is a confectionery company, over the coming 36 months it will look to diversify the business into other categories.
