Select Harvests managing director, David Surveyor, said the company’s $1.5 million net profit after tax (NPAT) for FY24, represents more than a $116 million turnaround from FY23, with an operating cash flow of $21.3 million being a 545.5 per cent increase on FY23.

Maggie Beer Holdings chair, Susan Thomas, told shareholders at this week’s AGM the board acknowledged the company must focus on earnings growth, capitalise on its “incredible” brand equity, and provide “proof points, not promises” to win back investor confidence after a year in which the company lost its CEO, CFO, and reported a $28.2 million loss.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024 has officially passed Parliament, leaving the ACCC focused on successful implementation of the new merger regime, ready for once it commences in 2026.

Australian wine has received another international accolade, after a high-performing year for the industry. The 2022 Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay secured second place in US-based wine publication Vinous' Top 100 Wines of 2024.

Irish materials handling company, Combilift, has marked being in Australia for 21 years, with co-founder and MD, Martin McVicar, in Melbourne to celebrate the milestone with the local team.

According to Australia’s 2023-24 Gender Equality Scorecard, there is still a “sizeable and pervasive” total remuneration gender pay gap of almost 22 per cent. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) research shows that while the food and beverage manufacturing industry has started reducing this gap on paper, the uneven composition of its workforce has an impact.

Australia’s first social enterprise bakery, The Bread & Butter Project, has graduated its latest group of bakers, with its largest ever cohort marking the program’s 100th graduate.

The University of Sydney and Peking University have launched a Joint Centre for Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Development, which will support research into improving the sustainability and security of food systems in Australia and China.

Sydney-based biotech company, All G, has secured regulatory approval in China to sell recombinant (made from microbes, not cows) lactoferrin. CEO Jan Pacas says All G is the first company in the world to receive the approval, and recombinant human lactoferrin is “next in line”.

Fonterra Co-operative Group has announced the company is on track to meet its climate targets, and has turned off the coal boiler at its Waitoa site, making its North Island manufacturing entirely coal free.

Canola oil producer, Riverina Oils & Bio Energy (ROBE), has partnered with Australian renewable energy retailer, Flow Power, to power its operations with solar energy – a major step towards enhancing sustainability of its products.

Ingredients company, Hawkins Watts says its acquisition of Queensland-based flavour and ingredient distributor, Taste Rite Agencies, will create growth opportunities and streamlined operations. Taste Rite began in 1995 and more recently has been working as a sub-distributor for Hawkins Watts.

Beston Global Food Company and its subsidiary, Beston Pure Dairies, will undergo “an orderly wind down with milk production operations to cease from 6th December 2024”, its voluntary administrator, KPMG announced on 26 November.

Marketing and communications agency, Bastion, has created a new branch of the business focused on the beverage sector, with a goal to enhance brand experiences, particularly at major events.

Chobani Australia has appointed Connie Biviano as general manager – science & innovation, and Ellie Vince as general manager – marketing, aiming to meet the demands of a dynamic market.

Melbourne-based producer, Pure Dairy, has appointed Andrew Wellington as its new chief commercial officer, ready to support the company as it makes moves both domestically and internationally.