Food Revolution Group secures juice supply contract with Aldi
Food processing company The Food Revolution Group (ASX: FOD) has secured a 12-month contract to manufacture and supply a new apple-mango juice for sale in Aldi stores nationwide.
The contract will boost the group’s domestic sales figures and has been considered a key move in the expansion of its range of fruit juices and infused drinks, marketed under brands such as The Juice Lab, The Bucha Shop, Replenish, Fruit Farm and Thirsty Bro’s.
Chairman Norman Li said partnering with Aldi – one of Australia’s fastest-growing retailers with more than 500 stores nationally – will help meet the group’s strategic objectives of increasing throughput at its Mill Park facility in Victoria and generating over $100 million in sales.
“Securing a supply contract with Aldi is an opportunity to build our presence in Australia and realise the next phase of our growth,” he said.
“The supply deal is a testament to the quality of our products and positions [us] to generate further distribution deals within the supermarket industry.”
Significant contracts
The Aldi contract win follows The Food Revolution Group’s recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) whereby Sinopec will sell the group’s canola oil products in more than 35,000 petrol and convenience stores in China.
The group expects distribution of its Australia’s Garden canola oil range to commence in early 2019 once China Inspection & Quarantine Certification has been received.
“We have secured a number of significant contracts in quick succession [allowing us to] move into new markets and accelerate our growth strategy,” Mr Li said.
“We have been working diligently towards delivering on [our] strategy of scalable and profitable growth and we will continue to focus on growing our sales into China to serve new and expanded markets.”
Earlier this month, The Food Revolution Group gained a speedy CIQ for its Fruit Farm orange juices, allowing it to ship the products to Shanghai for sale in a variety of stores.
Chinese distribution
Mr Li said entry into the Chinese market has been a long-term goal for The Food Revolution Group, enabled by a distribution deal signed in September with strategic investor Careline Australia.
Having operated in China for more than 20 years, Careline has a “deep and proven” understanding of Chinese consumers and a network of more than 10,000 sales agents working directly with Chinese buyers.
Mr Li said the company’s growing Chinese distribution capabilities place it in a “very strong position” to launch products into that part of the world.
“This is a pivotal period for [our] company as we move into new markets and accelerate our growth strategy,” he said.
At midday, shares in The Food Revolution Group were trading 11.43% lower at $0.155.