Australian juice and dairy major Bega Group has announced it has secured a “binding agreement” to sell its juice extraction factory in Leeton, New South Wales, to local juice maker Grove Juice.
The sum of the deal was not disclosed.
Following the transaction, Grove Juice will have control over the facility and its machinery the group confirmed to Just Drinks.
Of the 21 employees at the site, two will be employed by Bega Group, while 19 will work for Grove Juice.
Grove Juice will continue to process some fruit juice at the Leeton site on behalf of Bega Group as part of a long-term agreement between both companies. It will also use the site to process its own fruit from the region for its own products.
Based in Mansfield, Queensland, Grove Juice sources fruits for its juices from third-party suppliers in Stranhorpe, Gayndah, and Sunshine Coast in Queensland, as well as contracted farms in Leeton, Moree and Griffith in New South Wales.
Bega Group said the move marks another step in its “strategy of simplification”.
Commenting on the news, Darryn Wallace, executive general manager of Bega Group said: “This sale ensures we maintain strong relationships with local and regional fruit growers while securing a reliable partner in fruit extraction as we prepare to embark on an exciting period of new product launches in the near future."
Greg Quinn, managing director at Grove Australia Holdings added: “The purchase of the Leeton juice extraction facility is an exciting step in our journey of investment and development of fresh Australian juice”.
Bega Group first acquired the juice extraction site in January 2021 when it bought Kirin Holdings’ Lion Dairy & Drinks business the year prior for A$534m ($364m).
The Mildura fruit juice maker said its juice processing and packaging site in Smithfield, New South Wales would continue to operate under its ownership and that “it remains committed to the growth and development of its branded juice business”, which includes the brands Daily Juice and the Juice Brothers.
Grove Juice bottles a range of private label fruit juices as well as its Grove Juice range which includes orange, cloudy apple and mixed fruit juices. It already manages two processing sites in Warwick and Brisbane, Queensland.
Its products are sold across Australia in Coles supermarkets. The juices are also sold in Woolworths in Queensland and New South Wales, and a number of IGA’s, Spar and Drakes stores in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
The group also has a partnership with the Boost Juice brand which is sold in selected IGA’s stores in Western Australia.
