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Food & drink

This Month

Woolworths boss Amanda Bardwell at the ACCC hearing on Monday.

ACCC takes on Woolworths boss in rare intervention

The supermarket giant appeared at a public hearing on Monday as the regulator investigated the market power of it and its biggest rival, Coles.

  • Carrie LaFrenz and Tom McIlroy
All free sugar can potentially damage your health, but sugary drinks are particularly bad.

What fizzy drinks really do to your body – and the worst ones for you

A single can of Coca-Cola or Monster Energy will put you over the daily recommended sugar limit. But artificially sweetened beverages may not be much better.

  • Sue Quinn
Endeavour CEO Steve Donohue said the outlook for the consumer remains uncertain, and discounting remains elevated at its bottle shops.

Endeavour warns on profits amid sluggish liquor store sales

The owner of Dan Murphy’s and BWS is still ahead of the market and next biggest competitor, but increased discounting is hurting margins and earnings.

  • Updated
  • Carrie LaFrenz
Out with the old and in with the new. Domino’s Pizza new CEO Mark van Dyck (centre) and departing CEO Don Meij (left). Chairman Jack Cowin (right) is also the major shareholder.

New CEO puzzled over why French shun Domino’s

Mark van Dyck says earning higher profit from the pizza chain’s 3800 stores will be the priority and not opening new ones, as he succeeds 22-year veteran Don Meij.

  • Simon Evans
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises chief executive Don Meij is stepping down.

Billionaire Cowin doubles down on Domino’s after CEO agrees to exit

Don Meij started as a delivery driver and held the top job for 22 years. But also he led the business through downgrades and failed to fix poor performance.

  • Updated
  • Simon Evans and Carrie LaFrenz
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Domino’s chief Don Meij will depart after four decades on the pizza slicer.

Don Meij delivered, then divided. Domino’s is now a puzzle with the lot

Whatever you think of the polarising chief executive, there’s no doubt he’s hanging up his pizza slicer at an extremely tricky time for the former darling.

  • James Thomson

October

A Coles Finest ham. The company says it is selling far more of its premium home brand products than every before.

Home brands have had a makeover - and customers love it

As families faces stubbornly high mortgage and utilities bills, they are increasingly turning to Woolworths and Coles’ own brands. It is a lucrative sale.

  • Gus McCubbing
Coles chief executive Leah Weckert says shoppers are increasingly buying home brand products.

Coles bets on fewer but steeper discounts to lure shoppers

Unlike its larger rival Woolworths, the average price at the company’s stores continues to increase – although at a much slower pace than previous quarters.

  • Updated
  • Carrie LaFrenz
Better days: Jon Adgemis (left) with Guy Grossi outside the Clifton Hotel at Melbourne’s Kew Junction.

Celebrated chef Guy Grossi distances himself from Jon Adgemis

His company could join other parties that the Public Hospitality Group boss once worked with that have already walked away.

  • Primrose Riordan
The ACCC accused the two big retailers of targeting families with stretched budgets and seeking discounts.

Coles, Woolworths blame price hikes on suppliers

The two supermarket chains appeared in Federal Court on Wednesday to defend the case brought against them by the competition watchdog.

  • Updated
  • Carrie LaFrenz
Fresh cocktail glass on glass table in night club restaurant.

Three Australian bars ranked in world’s top 50, led by ‘beloved spot’

Three Australian bars have been named in the world’s top 50, including Melbourne venue Caretaker’s Cottage, which jumped to No. 21 overall.

  • Gus McCubbing
European tomatoes are flooding the Australian market.

Europe likens probe into cheap tomato exports to Beijing trade wars

Australian officials have this month begun an inquiry into whether Italian groups are dumping products sold as Coles, Woolworths and Aldi home brands.

  • Simon Evans
Kirin president and COO Takeshi Minakata likes the taste of Lion’s Stone & Wood.

How Australia challenges Japanese brewer and vitamins group Kirin

Beer is as old as time. But serving up the same products to the same customers is a recipe for failure.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Cobram Estate co-founder Robert McGavin will prolong his stay on the company’s board.

Glass Lewis backflip prompts AGM proxy process questions

It is one thing to have a view, it is another to stand behind it. How much work goes into some of these proxy recommendations?

  • Anthony Macdonald
Donato Toce, head creative chef at Gelato Messina, at the restaurant where the chain “flexes” by serving six-course degustation dinners with gelato in every dish.

Meet the gelato king who won’t melt for private equity

The man who’s come up with most of Gelato Messina’s 5000 limited-edition specials – if not the biggest-selling flavour – is in no hurry to cede control.

  • Michael Bailey
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Fenn Foods’ brands are stocked by Woolworths and Coles.

Collapsed plant-based meat start-up Fenn Foods finds a buyer

The company was among the largest suppliers of vegetarian and vegan products to major supermarkets Woolworths and Coles.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Why chocolate bars are about to get pricier before Christmas

The prices of chocolate, sugar and orange juice are on the rise, creating an even bigger inflation headache for the RBA.

  • Cecile Lefort
Asahi and its CUB business were forced into a hasty revamp of Hard Solo last year - with Hard Rated the No.1 in the light-coloured ready-to-drink spirits category, in part because of zero sugar versions.

Why young people are choosing this tipple over wine and beer

The No.1 brand in light-coloured RTD spirits is a canned drink called Hard Rated, which has succeeded in the ultra-competitive liquor market by being low-calorie and citrusy.

  • Simon Evans
Guzman y Gomez listed on the ASX in June this year.

Guzman y Gomez says it’s on track to hit bullish growth forecasts

The Mexican-themed fast food chain has divided the market with its big plans, but says it’s on course to meet this year’s projections after posting quarterly sales of $280 million.

  • Carrie LaFrenz
Accolade Wines makes commercial wine brands including Hardys, Banrock Station and St Hallett.

Bain seeks to quaff up Australia’s Accolade Wines

The local winemaking giant’s first private equity owner made a motza, the second lost it. The new brigade promises its reign will be very different.

  • Anthony Macdonald

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/food---drink-hv8