Food supplier and cooking appliances seller The Essential Ingredient under administration
Administrators have been brought in to restructure and prepare a sale process at one of the nation’s best recognised foodie and cooking equipment sellers, The Essential Ingredient.
The Essential Ingredient has been placed into voluntary administration after operating for more than 35 years – a victim of the cost of living and a fall in consumer spending on dining out and premium foods.
The business operates three retail outlets, an online shop and a wholesale business to the food services and retail industry, and employs more than 60 staff.
It joins a growing list of hospitality companies which have collapsed in recent years, including parts of the local operations of US hamburger chain Carl’s Jr, gourmet restaurant food delivery business Providoor and paint and wine venue Pinot & Picasso. In July The Australian reported hospitality businesses had failed at the fastest rate on record in the 2024 financial year.
Figures from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission show accommodation and food services insolvency appointments rose faster than any other sector in the 12 months to June 30. The number of collapses skyrocketed by 50 per cent to a record 1667, compared with the previous high of 1114 in 2023.
Robert Ditrich, Rebecca Gill and Craig Crosbie of PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia have been appointed as voluntary administrators of The Essential Ingredient group of companies. The administrators will continue to trade the businesses while undertaking an immediate operational restructure and sale process. “The Essential Ingredient is a longstanding and high-quality providore in the food services industry,” said Mr Ditrich on Thursday.
“It has faced a challenging economic and operating environment. The legacy of stock losses during the Covid closure and higher operating costs have all taken a toll on profitability.
“Our aim is to move quickly to preserve the business and as many jobs as possible. We intend to continue trading and sell the business and assets as a going concern, with strong interest expected from prospective buyers.”
The Essential Ingredient directors, Syd Weddell and Peter Walmsley said: “It is with enormous disappointment that following our post-Covid investments for growth, we faced economic headwinds which have not enabled us to realise the expectation of returning to pre-Covid profitability.
“We are committed to working with PwC and our talented staff to continue servicing our highly valued customers.”
The Essential Ingredient has 750 private label products in more than 25 categories, retail outlets, a business-to-business division, and in 2024 had annual sales of about $1.2m.
Originally published as Food supplier and cooking appliances seller The Essential Ingredient under administration
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