Di Bella is now the second largest roast and ground coffee enterprise in Australia and has consolidated its position in the Australian coffee industry following the successful completion of the restructuring and alignment activities underpinning the 1H18 repositioning of its four national and international coffee brands and leadership structure under one umbrella brand, Di Bella.
The consolidation was undertaken as part of RFG’s business-wide review, enabling the Company’s coffee enterprise to become a key business pillar with enhanced autonomy independent of RFG’s Franchise and Commercial growth pillars. Di Bella, roaster and supplier of Australia’s finest coffee, is an independent business owned by Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG).
RFG Group CEO, Richard Hinson, said, “Di Bella has exceptional growth potential and will be instrumental in RFG’s future success. Coffee is a key part of our DNA, and under the experienced leadership of CEO Di Bella, Darren Dench, will leverage its scale and core capabilities in craft and contract roasting to enter a range of new market segments, to further capitalise on the brand’s strong reputation within the FMCG sector”.
The Australian coffee and tea manufacturing market has grown at an average of 3.9% per annum over the past five years to 2017/18, to reach an estimated $1.8 billion[1].
Mr Dench said, “This consolidation means that Di Bella is now Australia’s second largest roast and ground coffee enterprise, currently purchasing more than 3,600+ tonnes of coffee annually and supplying over 3,000 cafes and restaurants, and customers within 37 countries.
“Di Bella has always been a coffee-of-choice for discerning coffee drinkers. As a brand, our unique selling proposition has been both our Crop to Cup philosophy, and our bespoke roasting capabilities. Bringing these together into one larger enterprise means we can better leverage roasting capabilities amongst our different plants, as well as ensuring that the product and service, the true star of our brand, is more widely available”, he said.
“We are primed to grow profitably, and scale globally, thanks to this simpler sales model that aligns to key customer segments, an accelerated growth mindset, and a focus on operating efficiency that will build a self-sustaining global coffee business.
Three Stage Growth Plan:
Mr Dench confirmed that Di Bella Coffee has implemented a three-stage growth plan to transform the business from an Australian specialty wholesaler into a global roast and ground coffee brand.
The first stage, now complete, focused on strengthening critical operational capabilities under a single leadership team, and implementing financial and operational initiatives to improve gross margins and cashflow generation.
The current stage of the growth plan will capitalise on these foundations to:
- Expand the business’ existing presence in the USA and New Zealand,
- Expand existing volumes and footprint amongst the independent café market, and
- Enter new channels and launch new product portfolios.
In the longer term, Di Bella will explore accelerated growth opportunities in a range of segments and geographies.
Significant opportunity remains for Di Bella to expand across all three major consumption occasions – at leisure, home and work – driven by increasing consumer demand for café quality coffee at home and work. Domestically, Australia’s booming coffee culture has also continued to support downstream demand from major segments such as supermarkets and coffee shops. This trend is also occurring globally with the premiumisation of coffee in major international markets.
RFG is excited about its future in the FMCG coffee industry and confirmed that this new consolidation sets the scene for future growth and expansion.
ENDS
For further information, interviews or images contact Richard Forbes on 0427 270 687 or Richard.forbes@rfg.com.au
[1] IBISWorld Industry Report, August 2017