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, also called BDD, is a big Australian food company. It's part of the Bega Group. This company makes many dairy foods and juices. It used to be called National Foods before 2009. Later, when a Japanese company named Kirin owned it, it was known as Lion Dairy & Drinks. Bega Group bought it in November 2020.

One important change happened in 2008. The company bought another dairy business called Dairy Farmers. The Dairy Farmers brand is still used today. You can find it on milk, yogurt, and flavored milks. These products are very popular in New South Wales and Queensland.

Bega Dairy & Drinks focuses on dairy foods and juices. They make milk, yogurt, cream, and dairy desserts. They also produce juice and special cheese. For many years, they have been one of Australia's biggest food producers in these areas.

The Story of Bega Dairy & Drinks

How Bega Dairy & Drinks Started

The company we know today as Bega Dairy & Drinks began in 1991. It was created by the Adelaide Steamship Company. They brought together several dairy and food businesses. Some of these businesses had been around since the 1800s.

Changes in Ownership

In 2004, two companies wanted to buy National Foods. These were San Miguel Corporation from the Philippines and Fonterra from New Zealand. National Foods decided to sell to San Miguel Corporation. The deal was worth $1.8 billion.

After this, National Foods bought back Berri Ltd., a juice company. This made National Foods the largest fruit juice maker in Australia. They processed about half of all fruit juice sold in the country. At this time, National Foods had 3,500 employees. They also had 20 factories across Australia and New Zealand.

In 2007, San Miguel Corp. sold National Foods to Kirin Holdings Co. from Japan. Kirin paid $3.1 billion for the company. National Foods then became fully owned by Kirin.

Mergers and New Names

In 2008, National Foods bought another Australian dairy company, Dairy Farmers. In 2009, Kirin Holdings also bought Lion Nathan. National Foods and Lion Nathan then joined together. They formed a new company called "Lion Nathan National Foods."

By 2011, "Lion Nathan National Foods" split into two parts. These were Lion and Lion Dairy & Drinks.

In 2015, a company called Warrnambool Cheese and Butter bought some of Lion Dairy & Drinks' cheese brands. These included Cracker Barrel and COON.

Recent Sales and Changes

In November 2019, it was announced that China's Mengniu Dairy would buy Lion Dairy from Kirin. The price was about A$600 million. However, the Australian Treasurer did not approve this sale. So, in August 2020, the sale was called off.

Then, in November 2020, Bega Cheese bought the business. They paid A$534 million for it. This is how Lion Dairy & Drinks became part of the Bega Group.

In February 2023, Bega announced a change. They would stop making milk and yogurt at their Canberra factory. This work would move to their Penrith factory instead.

Where Products Are Made

Bega Dairy & Drinks has many factories. These factories are located in different parts of Australia. You can find them in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory.

The company is a major milk producer in Australia. Their main milk brand is Pura. They also make a lot of juice. They are a leader in fresh dairy products. For example, their Big M flavored milk is very popular. Farmers Union Iced Coffee is also famous. It's one of the few drinks that sells more than Coca-Cola in its area.

Bega Dairy & Drinks also makes yogurt, dairy desserts, and cream. Some of their brands include Yoplait, Frûche, Divine Classic, and YoGo. They also produce special cheeses. These include brands like King Island Dairy, South Cape, and Tilba.

Important Company Moments

• 1991 – The company was listed on the Australia Stock Exchange.
• 1992 – They bought United Dairies, a dairy company in New South Wales.
• 1994 – Masters Dairy in Western Australia was acquired.
• 1995 – They got the right to sell the French brand Yoplait in Australia. Sales started the next year.
• 1999 – Pura became Australia's first national milk brand.
• 2000 – The Big M brand was acquired.
• 2001 – They bought King Island Dairy. This marked their entry into special cheese.
• 2002 – They won their first 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 Lactos Pty Ltd, another special cheese maker.
• 2007 – Kirin Holdings Company, Limited bought the company.
• 2008 – They planned to buy Dairy Farmers.
• 2009 – Kirin Holdings gained full ownership of Lion. This created "Lion Nathan National Foods."
• 2011 – Lion Nathan National Foods split into Lion and Lion Dairy & Drinks.
• 2021 – Bega Cheese bought Lion Dairy & Drinks.

Brands You Might Know

Bega Dairy & Drinks makes many popular brands. They have factories in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. 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 Ltd.	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

Milk Prices and Farmers

In 2009, National Foods talked to the Australian Senate about milk prices. The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association was worried. They said National Foods was paying Tasmanian farmers only 29 cents per litre for milk. This was about 10 cents per litre less than what it cost farmers to produce the milk.

External Links

• National Foods Website