Bega Dairy & Drinks facts for kids

Bega Dairy & Drinks

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Food & beverage
Founded	1991
Headquarters	Docklands, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Area served	Australia New Zealand Asia
Products	Dairy & juice
Revenue	A$2.00 billion (2015)
Parent	Bega Group
Subsidiaries	Dairy Farmers & others

Bega Dairy & Drinks is a big Australian company that makes dairy foods and juices. It's part of the Bega Group, which is another large Australian food company. Bega Dairy & Drinks used to be owned by a Japanese company called Kirin and was known as Lion Dairy & Drinks. Bega Group bought it in November 2020.

This company makes many popular foods and drinks. Their main products include milk, yoghurt, cream, dairy desserts, juice, and special kinds of cheese.

The Story of Bega Dairy & Drinks

The company we know today as Bega Dairy & Drinks started in 1991. It was first called National Foods. It was formed by bringing together several older dairy and food businesses. Some of these businesses had been around since the 1800s!

In 2004, two big companies, San Miguel Corporation from the Philippines and New Zealand's Fonterra, wanted to buy National Foods. San Miguel Corporation won and bought National Foods for a lot of money in 2005. At that time, National Foods also bought back a juice company called Berri Ltd. This made National Foods the biggest company for processing citrus and fruit juice in Australia. They packaged about half of all fruit juice sold in Australia.

By then, National Foods had 3,500 employees and 20 factories across Australia and New Zealand. These factories made milk, juice, cheese, and other dairy products.

In 2007, San Miguel Corp. sold National Foods to Kirin Holdings Co. from Japan. Kirin paid even more money for the company. National Foods then became fully owned by Kirin.

A year later, in 2008, National Foods bought another Australian dairy company called Dairy Farmers. Then, in 2009, Kirin Holdings also bought Lion Nathan. Kirin decided to combine National Foods and Lion Nathan. They created a new big company called "Lion Nathan National Foods."

In 2011, "Lion Nathan National Foods" split into two main parts: Lion and Lion Dairy & Drinks. This is how the company got its name before Bega bought it.

In 2015, a company called Saputo Inc. bought some of Lion Dairy & Drinks' cheese brands, like Cracker Barrel and COON.

Later, in 2019, a Chinese company called Mengniu Dairy tried to buy Lion Dairy from Kirin. The Australian government's Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, did not approve this sale. So, the deal fell through in 2020.

Finally, in November 2020, Bega Cheese bought the business for A$534 million. This is how it became Bega Dairy & Drinks.

In 2023, Bega decided to move some of its milk and yoghurt making. They stopped production at their Canberra factory and moved it to their Penrith factory.

Bega Dairy & Drinks has factories in many places across Australia. These include Chelsea Heights and Morwell in Victoria; Baulkham Hills, Penrith, and Hexham in New South Wales; Crestmead in Queensland; Jervois and Clarence Gardens in South Australia; Bentley in Western Australia; and Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory.

The company is a very important milk producer in Australia. Their Pura brand is one of their main milk products. They also make a lot of juice and are leaders in fresh dairy products. Their Big M flavoured milk is very popular. Also, Farmers Union Iced Coffee is so popular in South Australia that it sells more than Coca-Cola there!

Bega Dairy & Drinks also makes yoghurt, dairy desserts, cream, and cheese. Some of their well-known brands include Yoplait, Frûche, Divine Classic, YoGo, and Farmers Union. They also make special cheeses under brands like King Island Dairy, South Cape, Tilba, Timboon, and Clover Creek.

Important Moments

Here are some key moments in the company's history:

• 1991 – The company was listed on the Australia Stock Exchange.
• 1992 – They bought a dairy company in New South Wales called United Dairies.
• 1994 – They acquired Masters Dairy in Western Australia.
• 1995 – They got the right to sell the French brand Yoplait in Australia. Yoplait sales started the next year.
• 1999 – The Pura brand became the first milk brand sold all over Australia.
• 2000 – They bought the Big M brand.
• 2001 – They acquired King Island Company and started making special cheeses.
• 2002 – They won their first big contract to supply milk for a national supermarket's own brand.
• 2005 – San Miguel Corporation bought the company. Their juice company, Berri Limited, joined with National Foods.
• 2006 – They bought a special cheese maker called Lactos Pty Ltd.
• 2007 – Kirin Holdings Company, Limited bought the company.
• 2008 – They planned to buy Dairy Farmers.
• 2009 – Kirin Holdings bought all of Lion, creating "Lion Nathan National Foods."
• 2011 – Lion Nathan National Foods split into Lion and Lion Dairy & Drinks.
• 2021 – Bega Cheese bought Lion Dairy & Drinks.

What Brands Do They Make?

Bega Dairy & Drinks makes many popular brands. They produce these from 24 main factories. Here are some of their well-known brands:

Brand	Where it's sold	What it is
The Complete Dairy	National	Milk
Pura Milk	South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Northern Territory	Milk
Dairy Farmers	New South Wales, Queensland	Milk, Yoghurt
Big M	National (except Western Australia)	Flavoured Milk
Dare Iced Coffee	National	Flavoured Milk
Farmers Union	National	Iced Coffee, Yoghurt, Flavoured Milk
Masters	Western Australia	Milk, Flavoured Milk
King Island Dairy	National	Cheese
Tasmanian Heritage	National	Cheese
Yoplait	National	Yogurt
Berri	National	Juice
Daily Juice	National	Juice
The Juice Brothers	National	Juice
Vitasoy	National	Soy Milk, Oat Milk, Rice Milk
YoGo	National (except Western Australia)	Dairy dessert
Zooper Dooper	National	Ice block