Bega Cheese, the Australian food major, has acquired a stake in Hummingbird Superfoods, a local subscription-based business focusing on breakfast products.
The dairy-to-Vegemite supplier said the investment in Hummingbird Superfoods “will strengthen Bega’s portfolio and capability in e-commerce and subscription channels”.
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As part of the deal, Bega will licence the Hummingbird Superfoods brand, under which the company markets products including cereal and porridge. Financial details were not disclosed.
Hummingbird Superfoods founder Sean Collins said: “[Bega] have an incredible reputation and immense experience that can only benefit our already growing consumer base. We hope to see Hummingbird become Australia’s leading breakfast brand and with Bega’s help we’re confident we can achieve this.”
In February, Bega bought a majority stake in Australian online supplements business 180 Nutrition.
Bega, one of Australia’s largest dairy processors, acquired the Vegemite brand in 2017 when it bought a clutch of assets from Mondelez International.
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By GlobalDataLast month, Bega announced its latest set of full-year accounts, which showed revenue of AUD1.42bn (US$973.8m) for the 12 months to the end of June, up 13% on a year earlier.
On a statutory basis, EBIT was down 36% at AUD38.9m, on the back of recent acquisition costs. Profit after tax was 59% lower at AUD11.8m amid higher depreciation and amortisation from recent capital investments, as well as interest from the M&A activity.
On a “normalised” basis, Bega reported a 5% fall in EBIT to AUD75m and a 13% decline in profit after tax to AUD38.3m.
