NewsBite

Vitamins

November

MCT is found naturally in coconut oil.

The supplement that burns fat and boosts energy

Can MCT, a natural fat found in coconuts and palm oil, really help you lose weight?

  • Lebby Eyres
Nick Mann, regional CEO of Australia, Asia and New Zealand and rotating group CEO of Swisse’s parent company H&H Group, at Swisse’s office in Collingwood, Melbourne.

Why this Swisse CEO fasts for 19 hours a day

Nick Mann, regional CEO of the parent company that owns Swisse, has stepped up into the role of global group CEO just as the wellness industry is booming.

  • Euan Black

August

Nature’s Care headquarters in Belrose, Sydney.

Nature’s Care sale docs in front of potential buyers; NBIOs due Sept 6

Although the company returned a $23.7 million operating profit in 2023, it has struggled under a heavy debt load and missed a $148 million debt payment last month.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

March

Jack Wu’s three-bedroom apartment in Milsons Point, Sydney.

The day a 34-year-old Sydneysider got a $116m tax bill

The Tax Office’s pursuit of a wealthy Taiwanese-Sydney family illustrates how investigations that take years can suddenly accelerate.

  • Aaron Patrick
Nature’s Care is Australia’s third-largest vitamins company.

Chinese funds blow more than half a billion on Nature’s Care

Two state-owned private equity investors may have lost $585 million on Nature’s Care, a Sydney vitamins maker put into administration on Monday.

  • Aaron Patrick
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The family property in Sydney’s Ingleside suburb owned by Alex Wu and Jina Chen, founder of Nature’s Care.

Street Talk triggered $207m freeze order; family ‘flight risk’

The rich Taiwanese-Australian family behind the Nature’s Care brand lied to the tax office about their income, court documents allege.

  • Aaron Patrick
The Wu family had sold a large stake in Nature’s Care to interests ultimately controlled by the Chinese government.

She made $600m selling fish oil. Now Jina Chen wants her company back

One of the country’s wealthiest immigrant families has pitted itself against investment funds controlled by Beijing in a fight over the future of Nature’s Care.

  • Aaron Patrick

October 2023

Nature’s Care was pitched as Australia’s third-largest vitamins company when it came up for sale in 2017.

Vitamin maker Nature’s Care up for sale; KordaMentha on hand

The company’s lenders, led by Singapore’s UOB,  have appointed KordaMentha partner Ryan Rabbitt to oversee a potential deal.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

September 2023

Vitamins maker Blackmores de-listed from the ASX on August 11 after a $1.9 billion buyout by Japan’s Kirin. Kirin aims to expand the Blackmores brand into “food with functions” type immunity products.

Blackmores to expand from vitamins into health foods by 2025

The Japanese group Kirin acquired the ASX-listed company for $1.9 billion earlier this year, and told shareholders it has plans to launch the new range by 2025.

  • Simon Evans

August 2023

Marcus Blackmore will sit on the $334 million he is about to receive from Kirin in the Blackmores takeover, for at least six months.

Blackmore happy to be the Col Sanders of vitamins after $334m payday

The company’s largest shareholder says he’ll wait for six months before deploying the $334 million coming to him from the Kirin buyout.

  • Simon Evans

July 2023

One multivitamin pill a day will do,  more is not necessarily better and high doses could be damaging.

A multivitamin a day helps keep (some) memory loss at bay

While the brain needs several micronutrients for optimal health, a Harvard study has shown a modicum of multivitamins can boost memory in people over 60.

  • Jill Margo

June 2023

Vitex’s founding family said they would explore an IPO back in 2017.

Vitamin maker Vitex flaunts $50m-a-year earnings, MacCap revives talks

It’s round two in family-owned vitamin manufacturer Vitex’s attempts to pin down a private equity investor.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

April 2023

Largest shareholder Marcus Blackmore is “relieved” at the Kirin bid.

Blackmores drama ends with Japanese slam dunk

Every year or two, a big Japanese conglomerate snaps up a well-known Australian company, and the deals are invariably clean, swift and at hefty premiums.

  • Anthony Macdonald

December 2022

Marcus Blackmore at Bayview on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Why the biggest shareholder in Blackmores is headed to Dubbo

A “bloody rocket” from 97-year-old shareholder Jack Poyner helped re-engage Marcus Blackmore with his eponymous company after the previous board froze him out.

  • Simon Evans

November 2022

Sydney Swans AFL star Lance “Buddy” Franklin and his wife Jesinta have been central to the strong performance of the Swisse vitamins brand.

Lance Franklin helps kick Swisse sales higher

Shoppers are buying vitamins to bolster their immune systems and have also been inspired by the Sydney Swans star and wife Jesinta.

  • Simon Evans
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October 2022

Vitable co-founder Larah Loutati.

Vitamin subscription start-up Vitable readies raising

Sydney-based vitamins subscription startup Vitable is knocking at investors’ doors again, looking to extend a $5 million convertible note round that it ruled off in June.

  • Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood

August 2022

Blackmores chief executive Alastair Symington

Blackmores in Vitamin C and fish oil spike as colds return

Humans have been buying up “immunity” products with gusto, while the PAW pet health brand has also made solid headway.

  • Simon Evans

June 2022

Sanofi’s Gladys Peters is focused on how the healthcare company delivers for people and the planet, and how that translates into profits.

Sustainability now ‘table stakes’ for all brands, says Sanofi boss

The risk for brands not working on sustainability is that they will become irrelevant to consumers.

  • Miranda Ward

May 2022

Nicole Kidman is an ambassador for the Swisse vitamins brand.

Swisse sales jump 29pc as shoppers bolster immune systems

In the “Living with COVID” phase, households are stocking up on vitamins and supplements, while pet nutrition is also on the rise.

  • Simon Evans

March 2022

Nicole Kidman is one of the global ambassadors for Swisse, which has been gaining market share in Australia.

Swisse embraces Coles, Woolies as daigou disappear

Entrepreneurs buying $200m of vitamins in Australia to sell online in China have vanished, causing all players to rethink their strategy.

  • Simon Evans

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/vitamins-1mvp