Four the drinks association members are among Australia’s top 10 food and drink companies for 2016.
Australia’s Top 100 Australian Food & Drink Companies 2016 report, produced by Food & Drink Business in collaboration with IBISWorld, provides an up-to-the-minute snapshot of the fortunes of the nation’s largest food and beverage companies.
The top performer in the drinks industry was Coca-Cola Amatil, followed by Lion Nathan, TWE and CUB.
Here’s a quick look at who made the list this year:
1. Fonterra remained No.1 on the list of top food and beverage companies by revenue generated ($16.58b)
2. Coca-Cola Amatil moved up the list from No.3 ($5.2b)
3. Lion Nathan moved down the list from No.2 ($4.8b)
4. JBS Australia remained steady at No.4 ($4.6b)
5. Bidvest rose from No.7 ($3.1b)
6. Teys remained steady at No.6 ($2.9b)
7. Murray Goulburn fell from No.5 position ($2.8b)
8. Ingham’s remained steady at No.8 ($2.5b)
9. Treasury Wine Estates moved up from No.13, to replace George Weston Foods in No.9 ($2.4b)
10. Carlton & United Breweries moved up from No.12, to replace Nestle in No.10 ($2.3b)
However, The Sydney Morning Herald notes there is supplier apprehension about the Australian supermarket industry which, according to Morgan Stanley, is one of the most concentrated in the developed world. The top two chains hold more than 60% market share, and the top three almost 80%.
“It estimated last year that Woolworths had the highest food and liquor market share (above 30%), followed by Coles (below 30%), and then IGA (below 15%), Aldi (about 10%) and Costco (less than 5%).”
The profitability of Woolworths and Coles peaked in the 2015 financial year, but rising competition and deflation have since dented the profitability of the big two chains.
“Suppliers are concerned about the potential consequences of a December court ruling that Woolworths did not act unconscionably by demanding as much as $60 million from suppliers to plug a profit shortfall.”
Gary Dawson, chief executive of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, which represents packaged food, drink and grocery manufacturers, said then that it would be “pretty appalling if it [the ruling] were seen as a green light to do the same thing again.”
