Major Aussie cheese brand sold at Woolworths, Coles and IGA goes bust

An award-winning dairy company has gone bust.

Beston Global Food Company has announced it is under voluntary administration.

The South-Australian based company employed 159 workers in the state and was the parent firm behind the Edwards Crossing Cheese Company and Mable’s brands.

The brands were available for sale in supermarkets across Australia – including Woolworths, Coles and IGA.

In addition to the well known cheese brands the company also sold whey and lactoferrin protein to pharmaceutical and dietary supplement manufacturers, including Chinese baby formula makers, and its factories produced milk and butter.

KPMG has taken control of the company.

There are concerns the company’s collapse could have a knock-on affect for the South Australian diary industry with administrator Tim Mableson saying a major focus would be to try and stablise the business so it could be refinanced or sold.

Beston blamed its collapse on the high cost of energy and a dip in farmgate milk prices. It also said successive interest rate rises over the previous two years had increased the company debts.

The brands were available for sale in supermarkets across Australia – including Woolworths, Coles and IGA (stock image)

Beston also made Mable’s cheeses which along with its Edwards Crossing brand featured prominently on supermarket cheese shelves

‘Over the last 12 months, Beston has experienced exceptionally high operating costs, particularly due to onerous energy prices at a time when Australian farm gate milk prices have been uncompetitive in world markets,’ a statement to the ASX said.

It also claimed that the Australian Dairy Code legislation had unintentionally made it more difficult for the diary processors. 

‘(It) does not recognise the volatile nature of dairy markets globally, nor allow appropriate price signals to be captured through the movements in supply and demand and has contributed to the closure of 11 dairy processing businesses in Australia during the past 18 months.’