Tanarra Capital has invested in Australian family-owned dairy company Barambah Organics for an undisclosed sum, the firm said, while former Accolade Wines ANZ MD Matthew Stanton will join the team as its new CEO.
Founding shareholders Ian and Jane Campbell will maintain significant ownership in the vertically-integrated company, as well as manage operations and support Barambah Organics’s growth strategy.
The fourth-generation family farm based in Spring Creek was converted to organic status by Barambah Organics’s founding shareholder Ian Campbell, and bottled its first milk in March 2002. It’s farming operations expand across three properties in Goondiwindi, Queensland, and in Raleigh, in the Bellingen region of NSW.
Barambah now develops milk, yoghurt, cream and cheese products, which are sold in 800 stores around Australia and internationally.
Commenting on his new role, Stanton told Food & Drink Business he joined Barambah for a combination of reasons.
"Being, the products are very good, the brand is positive, I buy into the philosophy of organic and sustainable farming and I see good opportunities to grow the business with our new and current customers," Stanton said.
"As I got more involved with Tanarra and the investment I became more in tune with the organic philosophy behind organic dairy. I'm excited to be working in this space and conscious of my responsibility as a custodian of the brand to continue to develop it in the award-winning organic products space.
"I think Barambah is very well positioned in the organic category and also in taking share of the broader dairy market as consumers continue to look towards organic, healthy alternatives."
Maja Sliwinski and Tom Forde from Tanarra’s private equity team led the investment and said the focus will now be on supporting the next stage Barambah Organics’s next stage of growth.
“Barambah Organics is an authentic, progressive and responsible corporate citizen that upholds high level of commitment to animal welfare and the local community and environment,” said Tanarra Capital investment director Tom Forde.
“The company will also continue to service its loyal customer base by maintaining its supply chain of carefully produced, high-quality and great tasting organic dairy products.”
Tanarra Capital further stated that the $50m figure used in published media reports “was not a number provided by us, so this is purely media speculation/estimate. We are not able to comment on the size of the deal as this is commercial in confidence”.
Some of the initial investment is expected to go towards Barambah's farms and factory, including new equipment to improve production and "then also with people on the sales and marketing side to support the growth plans," Stanton told F&DB.
Alongside Stanton’s appointment as CEO, Mark Richards will also join the team as the new CFO at Barambah Organics.
