Food, juice and infant formula group SPC Global’s dream of building a homegrown food powerhouse is facing early resistance from Australian investors, with its share price down 44 per cent since the business returned to the ASX late last year.

As part of its reinvention, it bought an infant formula business from Nature One Dairy to try to offset seasonal fluctuations in fruit and vegetable processing. That agreement fortunately excluded a milk processing business in Australia, Nepean River Dairy. Last month, this business went into administration.