 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food &beverage |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Docklands,Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Area served | Australia New Zealand Asia |
| Products | Dairy &juice |
| Revenue |  A$2.00 billion (2015) |
| Parent | Bega Group |
| Subsidiaries | Dairy Farmers & others |
Bega Dairy & Drinks (also known as BDD or BDD Pty Ltd) is a subsidiary of Australian diversified food company theBega Group, having been purchased from the Japanese companyKirin (who ownsLion in Australia) in November 2020.[1] It was previously a company known asNational Foods prior to 2009. While owned by Kirin, it was known asLion Dairy & Drinks.
One of the largest changes occurred in 2008, when it purchased rival company Sydney'sDairy Farmers. This brand was retained and is still used across a range of fresh & long-life milk, yoghurt and sugar sweetened flavoured milks, with the former product range being prominent in its original markets of New South Wales and Queensland.
It specialises in dairy food and juice, with core activities inmilk,yoghurt,cream, dairydesserts,juice and specialitycheese and has been one of Australia's largest players in this space for decades.
National Foods was created by theAdelaide Steamship Company in 1991 by amalgamating several dairy and food related businesses with brand names and histories dating back to the 19th century.[citation needed]
San Miguel Corporation of thePhilippines entered a bidding war for National Foods withNew Zealand'sFonterra in 2004. National Foods board unanimously accepted the San Miguel Corporation offer. In 2005 San Miguel acquired National Foods for $1.8 billion. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had earlier signed off on San Miguel Corporation's various Australian acquisitions, noting "there is no overlap between San Miguel's different activities in Australia and hence no change likely to the different markets in which these businesses operate." National Foods had earlier sold its juice business to Berri Ltd. After their acquisition National Foods regained 100% ownership ofBerri Ltd. in December 2005. The two operations began the merger process soon afterwards. Following the merger, National Foods became the largest citrus and fruit processor in Australia, packaging approximately 50% of all fruit juice beverages sold in Australia. This led to National Foods having 3500 employees and 20 processing plants around Australia and New Zealand, with seven milk plants, five juice plants, four speciality cheese plants, a cheese packaging plant, two dairy foods plants and a joint venturesoy beverage plant.[citation needed]
On 8 November 2007, San Miguel Corp. sold National Foods to Japan'sKirin Holdings Co. (which had a 20% stake in San Miguel) for $3.1 billion, National Foods became a wholly owned subsidiary of Kirin.[citation needed]
In 2008 National Foods acquired Australian dairy companyDairy Farmers and in 2009, when Kirin Holdings acquiredLion Nathan, National Foods and Lion Nathan were merged to create "Lion Nathan National Foods" (San Miguel no longer had any working relations with Australia).[citation needed]
In 2011, "Lion Nathan National Foods" separated into two divisions –Lion and Lion Dairy & Drinks.[citation needed]
In 2015,Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (owned bySaputo Inc.) paidA$137.5 million for a part of Lion Dairy & Drinks' business, including the cheese brands Cracker Barrel andCOON.[2]
On 25 November 2019, it was announced that China'sMengniu Dairy had purchased Lion Dairy fromKirin, for approximately A$600 million (US$407 million).[3] The deal was not opposed by theAustralian Competition & Consumer Commission,[4] but was rejected byTreasurerJosh Frydenberg.[5] On 25 August 2020, Kirin, the parent company of Lion, announced the sales has collapsed.[6] In November 2020, the business was sold toBega Cheese for A$534 million.[1]
In February 2023, it was announced that Bega would stop milk and yoghurt production at their Canberra plant, shifting the processing to their Penrith Plant.[7]
Bega Dairy & Drinks processing factories are[when?] located atChelsea Heights andMorwell inVictoria;Baulkham Hills,Penrith andHexham inNew South Wales;Crestmead inQueensland;Jervois andClarence Gardens inSouth Australia;Bentley inWestern Australia andCanberra inAustralian Capital Territory.[citation needed]
The company is a major milk producer in Australia with its flagship Pura brand. It is also a major juice producer and a leader in the fresh dairy products market. As of 2007, National Foods has almost half the national flavoured milk market with the brandBig M, andFarmers Union Iced Coffee has the unusual distinction of being one of only three soft drinks to outsellCoca-Cola in its market-place. National Foods also manufacturesyoghurt,fromage frais, dairy desserts, cream and cheese under brands that includeYoplait, Frûche, Divine Classic,YoGo andFarmers Union. The company also produces a range of premium speciality cheeses under brands such asKing Island Dairy, South Cape, Tilba, Timboon and Clover Creek.[citation needed]
Bega Dairy & Drink's core brands are produced from a total of 24 major facilities (19 in Australia, 1 in New Zealand, 2 in Malaysia, 2 in Indonesia) – some of the brands are listed below:
| Brand | Region served | Food or drink |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete Dairy | National | Milk |
| Pura Milk | South Australia,Victoria,Tasmania,Northern Territory | Milk |
| Dairy Farmers | New South Wales,Queensland | Milk,Yoghurt |
| Big M | National except Western Australia | Flavoured Milk |
| Dare Iced Coffee | National | Flavoured Milk |
| Farmers Union | National | Iced Coffee, Yoghurt, Flavoured Milk |
| Masters | Western Australia | Milk, Flavoured Milk |
| King Island Dairy | National | Cheese |
| Tasmanian Heritage | National | Cheese |
| Yoplait | National | Yogurt |
| Berri Ltd. | National | Juice |
| Daily Juice | National | Juice |
| The Juice Brothers | National | Juice |
| Vitasoy | National | Soy Milk,Oat Milk,Rice Milk |
| YoGo | National except Western Australia | |
| Zooper Dooper | National |
In early October 2009, National Foods gave evidence at an Australian Senate inquiry into milk prices; theTasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) was concerned because National Foods was paying Tasmanian farmers only 29 cents a litre for milk, about 10c/L below the amount it costs to produce the milk.[8]
