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Bellamy's Australia

Bellamy's Australia (formerly Tasmanian Pure Foods Ltd) is an Australian food and beverage company, and is the parent company of Bellamy's Organic, Australia's largest organic infant formula producer.

History

Bellamy's started as Bellamy's Organic in Launceston, Tasmania in 2003 as a family-operated company. In 2007 Bellamy's Organic was purchased by Tasmanian Pure Foods, a privately owned business set up to invest in and build Tasmanian food and agribusinesses. In June 2014 Tasmanian Pure Foods was renamed Bellamy's Australia.

Following its initial public offering in July 2014, Bellamy's Australia Limited (BAL) listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on 5 August 2014, with its share price rising more than 30% on debut.[1]

In November 2015, Bellamy’s apologised to customers after strong demand, particularly from Chinese consumers, led to shortages of infant formula on Australian retail shelves. The company said the shortages were partly due to bulk purchasing for resale into overseas markets.[2]

In December 2016, Maurice Blackburn said it was investigating a potential class action against Bellamy’s on behalf of shareholders following a sharp decline in the company’s share price after a trading update.[3]

In January 2017, Bellamy’s stood down chief executive officer Laura McBain and appointed Andrew Cohen as interim chief executive following a decline in the company’s share price and financial outlook.[4] In April 2017, Cohen was appointed CEO.[5][6][7]

In August 2017, the Group announced revenue for the year to June 2017 of $240.2 million (2016: $234.1 million) and normalised profit after tax of $28.2 million.[8] On 9 August, Bellamy's shares gained 32 cents, or 4.1%, to reach $8.20, reaching their highest level since early December 2016.[9]

In October 2017, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleged that Bellamy’s had failed to comply with continuous disclosure obligations between October and December 2016 in relation to a revenue downgrade. Bellamy’s agreed to pay a $66,000 penalty without admitting liability.[10]

In November 2019, Bellamy’s agreed to settle two shareholder class actions relating to its 2016 financial disclosures for approximately $50 million, without admitting liability.[11]

In December 2019, China Mengniu Dairy acquired Bellamy's Australia for $1.5 billion. Tarsi Luo was appointed Managing Director of Bellamy's Organic in May 2021.

Operations

Bellamy's is a Tasmanian-based company that produces certified organic foods. Bellamy's supplies its product range to supermarket chains, pharmacy chains and independent stores across Australia, and sells directly to consumers via an online sales portal. Bellamy's also exports its products to customers in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and New Zealand. The company opened an office in Shanghai in 2012 and in Singapore in 2014.

Products

The company produces a range of organic infant formula and baby food products, including formula, toddler milk and packaged baby foods.

Domestic and international markets

Bellamy's produces Australia's only certified organic infant formula product and is positioned as a "premium" brand within that domestic market.[12] In 2013, the baby food and formula category in Australia experienced 9% current value growth largely due to baby formula, which experienced a 12% value increase. Bellamy's had approximately 3% share of the overall baby category in 2014, with approximately 10% of the baby formula market share and 12% of the baby cereals and snacks market share.[13] As at 2014, Bellamy's had an estimated 95 per cent share of the organic segment of that market.[14] It is estimated that 15% of the company's revenue for the 2014 financial year came from offshore.[15] The company is a major exporter of organic infant formula to the (estimated 2014) $1 billion per annum[16] Chinese organic infant formula market and is positioned as a "super premium" brand within that market.[13] Increased focus on the development of the greater Asian market has seen the company establish subsidiary businesses in Shanghai and Singapore to handle marketing and distribution of Bellamy's products in China and South East Asia. The company's sales of organic infant formula are forecast to increase by 151% in the 2015 financial year, with organic food sales forecast to rise by 178% for the same period. Bellamy's has also flagged plans to expand into the currently $650 million[17] US and $225 million[18] UK organic baby food markets in 2016.[19]

New e-commerce regulations in China in 2016 led to an oversupply of Australian-labelled baby formula, causing widespread retail price discounting and heavily impacting company earnings in the second half of 2015–16 and first half of 2016–17. The appointment in June 2016 of retail pricing specialist and Bain & Company partner Andrew Cohen as Chief Operations & Strategic Officer, saw revenue for the six months to 31 December rise 12.5 per cent to $118.3 million compared to a year earlier.[20][9]

Awards

In 2013, CEO and Managing Director Laura McBain was named Telstra Tasmanian Business Woman of the Year,[21] and later Telstra Business Woman of the Year (Private and Corporate).[22]

In August 2014, the company was named "Best Regional Mid-Market Business" in the 2014 BRW/GE Capital Mid-Market Awards.[23]

References

  1. Tony Briscoe. Successful list for Tasmanian milk powder company Bellamys on the ASX Australian Broadcasting Commission, 8 August 2014, retrieved 27 November 2014^
  2. Sarah Porter. Bellamy's says sorry for Australian baby milk shortage BBC News, 10 November 2015, retrieved 13 April 2026^
  3. Mark Hawthorne, Catie Low. Bellamy's faces class action lawsuit after $500 million share plunge The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 2016, retrieved 13 April 2026^
  4. Carrie LaFrenz. Bellamy's stands down CEO Laura McBain Australian Financial Review, 11 January 2017, retrieved 13 April 2026^
  5. Bellamy's Australia says acting CEO Andrew Cohen and acting CFO Nigel Underwood confirmed as permanent executive appointments Reuters, 13 April 2017, retrieved 26 October 2017^
  6. Bellamy's interim CEO now permanent SBS, 13 April 2017, retrieved 26 October 2017^
  7. Jessica Gardner. Bellamy's Australia appoints John Ho to board, confirms Andrew Cohen as CEO Australian Financial Review, 13 April 2017, retrieved 26 October 2017^
  8. Annual Report 2017 bellamysorganic.com.au, Bellamys Australia, retrieved 25 October 2017^
  9. Bellamy's shares rise as licence restored SBS, 9 August 2017, retrieved 28 October 2017^
  10. Sarina Locke. Troubled Bellamy's infant milk maker fined for failing to disclose downgrade to the Australian stock exchange ABC News, 11 October 2017, retrieved 13 April 2026^
  11. Carrie LaFrenz. Bellamy's settles class actions for $50 million Australian Financial Review, 27 November 2019, retrieved 13 April 2026^
  12. Kirsty Needham. From doorstep to detention, Mai's journey is heartbreaking Sydney Morning Herald, 11 April 2014, retrieved 20 April 2014^
  13. Prospectus www.asx.com.au, Wilson HTM Investment Group, retrieved 27 November 2014^
  14. Sarah Thompson. Tasmanian Pure Foods gears up for ASX listing Australian Financial Review, 2 May 2014^
  15. Sally Rose. China milk deal helps Bellamy's Organic soar on ASX debut BRW, 5 August 2014, retrieved 28 August 2014^
  16. China Still Driving Global Milk Formula Sales EuroMonitor, retrieved 8 May 2014^
  17. Retail sales of organic baby food in the United States from 2011 to 2017 retrieved 17 November 2014^
  18. Value of the packaged organic food and beverage market in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2007 to 2017 (in million U.S. dollars) retrieved 17 November 2014^
  19. Mike King. The ASX's newest hot stock: Bellamy's Australia Ltd The Motley Fool, 6 August 2014, retrieved 30 August 2014^
  20. China sales hit Bellamy's profit Country News, retrieved 28 October 2017^
  21. Telstra Business Women Awards www.telstra.com.au, retrieved 26 August 2014^
  22. Launceston CEO picks up national award Tasmanian Examiner, 15 November 2013, retrieved 27 March 2014^
  23. Mike Bailey. Winners of BRW/GE Capital Mid-Market Awards announced Business Review Weekly, retrieved 17 November 2014^