With the return of Australia's largest food manufacturing industry event foodpro after a six-year hiatus, Food & Drink Business profiles foodpro exhibitors about their business and the expo. This week: Ingredients specialist Hawkins Watts Australia.
Hawkins Watts Australia is running its foodpro stand a little differently this year, starting with a brand refresh.
Food, beverage and supplement ingredients specialist Hawkins Watts Australia (HWA) has been busy – moving to a brand new premises, growing its team, and undergoing a brand refresh – and says it is more equipped than ever before to deliver creative ingredients solutions.
The company’s product range is greater than 1000 items with a focus on specialty ingredients rather than commodities.
HWA currently collaborates with more than 2300 customers in Australia and New Zealand.
Sales and business development manager Amanda Thomas says, “We are pleased to be celebrating our 21st year in business with a fresh new look and a team expansion to focus more on the health and nutrition market.
“We’ve recognised the increased focus that so many of us have placed on our health in recent years and are now able to support the creation of innovative new health-focused products in both the supplement and functional food markets.
“From sustainable collagen through to TGA approved flavours and excipients, we’ve got the product range and know-how to help businesses succeed in this exciting market.”
With this new strategic focus, HWA hired Michael Evans as technical and innovation manager – Health & Nutrition in mid-2022. The company is now further strengthening the team with a dedicated Health & Nutrition account manager.
“This will enable us to continue concentrating our efforts on further expansion into this space,” Thomas says.
Impressive new premises
Six months ago, the company relocated to a spacious new premises in Mulgrave, Victoria.
State-of-the-art laboratories and equipment have taken pride of place at HWA’s new headquarters, with a modern 300 square metre warehouse to complete the picture.
The laboratories are equipped with cutting-edge technical equipment, including aUV-vis spectrophotometer,3-1 combi oven, two stage homogenisers, water activity measurement capabilities, ultra turrax disperser and a canning machine to name a few.
HWA managing director Ian Robinson says, “Our investment in the new facilities allows us to offer more flexibility and valuable end-to-end solutions for our customers, as well as onsite warehousing for some of our dangerous goods and other ingredients.
“The food, beverage and supplement industries are complex and exciting, and we’re thrilled to be leading the charge in delivering innovative solutions. Our technical sales managers and application technologists love brainstorming solutions for our customers' problems in the lab, so investing in the best technical laboratory equipment for our new premises was an easy decision.”
Unveiling a new look at foodpro
HWA has also refreshed its branding to reflect its investment in the new premises, technical and warehousing capabilities, and expansion into the health and nutrition market. The new look, unveiled in May, will be on display at its foodpro stand.
Thomas says, “We thought it was time we gave our branding a refresh. We’re launching this new branding in time for foodpro, which will be a great opportunity to communicate our fresh new look to the industry.
“We also hope the creative concepts we’re showcasing on our stand will remind people that we’re more than just distributors, and we can provide comprehensive and creative solutions – from product development, trend insights and technical support through to customisation and stock management.”
HWA is also running its stand “a little differently” this year, with a Korean-inspired street-food style stand, serving hot lunch and dessert dishes throughout the expo.
“These concepts showcase our ingredients in a delicious way, and demonstrate how our product range can be utilised in a variety of applications.
“We don’t want to spoil the surprise, but visitors to our stand are in for a treat.”
Helping customers bring new ideas to life
HWA has now supplied creative ingredients solutions to the food and beverage industry for more than 21 years.
With health an increasing focus for many businesses, the team are now leveraging their expertise and technical capabilities to help customers bring new wellbeing-focused concepts into fruition.
This new pathway for HWA is targeted at both functional food manufacturers and customers in the complementary medicines market.
Customer commitment
HWA also offers both imported and locally manufactured ingredients.
“We are constantly seeking out exciting and innovative ingredients to offer our Australian customer base to help them develop, grow and compete in the global marketplace, at the best possible pricing.
“We offer premium ingredients from reputable quality-certified suppliers at a price comparable to cheaper copycat products, which are often of inferior quality and lack substantiation.
Most of our customers understand these differences, but it’s helping them to relay this to the cost-conscious consumer that can be challenging,” Thomas says.
Visit HWA on Stand D15 and sample some tasty dishes.
