Industry News

Food waste is a major challenge for petrol & convenience food operators. In a sector where perishables such as snacks, sandwiches, and beverages are essential, making smart choices in purchasing and preparation can significantly reduce waste while enhancing profitability and maintaining quality. Food waste is a major challenge for petrol & convenience food operators. In a sector where perishables such as snacks, sandwiches, and beverages are essential, making smart choices in purchasing and preparation can significantly reduce waste while enhancing profitability and maintaining quality. By carefully selecting ingredients, balancing fresh and frozen options, and adjusting cooking practices, operators can create a more sustainable and efficient food service. Here’s how: Choose Frozen Over Fresh When Possible One of the easiest ways to reduce food waste is by incorporating more frozen ingredients into daily operations. Frozen foods, including vegetables, fruits, and proteins, have a longer shelf life compared to their fresh counterparts,…

Viva Energy, which runs the OTR and Coles Express networks, has reported declining sales in its convenience store chain. The company is blaming illegal tobacco sales and the cost-of-living crisis for its convenience predicament. In the fuel company’s convenience and mobility business, fuel sales volumes edged up 0.5 per cent while convenience sales fell 4.1 per cent. While the group’s overall fuel sales were up 4 per cent on a pro forma basis to 16.8 billion litres, that growth was driven mainly by the solid performance of the commercial and industrial division, where volumes rose 5.2 per cent. “Group performance was negatively impacted by lower demand within our convenience business due to cost-of-living pressures and illicit tobacco trade, coupled with high inflation lifting the cost of doing business,” said CEO and MD Scott Wyatt. During the year, the group completed the OTR acquisition and received regulatory approvals for the Liberty Convenience deal.…

Celsius Holdings (CELH) shares skyrocketed 25% Friday, a day after the energy-drink maker expanded its efforts to reach women by acquiring rival Alani Nu for a net purchase price of $1.65 billion. The company also posted better-than-expected financial results.2 Celsius said the deal consists of $1.80 billion in cash and stock plus $150 million in tax assets. It is purchasing Alani Nu from co-founders Katy and Haydn Schneider and Congo Brands co-founders Max Clemons and Trey Steiger. Congo Brands operates Alani Nu. Celsius noted that along with the initial agreement, the sellers stand to potentially make another $25 million earn-out based on 2025 performance. Celsius CEO John Fieldly explained that the company expects the move will help expand the availability of Alani Nu products and “help more people achieve their wellness goals with great-tasting, functional product options at more moments throughout their lives.” The transaction is expected to close in…

Ampol has delivered its FY 2024 financial results, reporting a statutory net profit of $122.5 million despite challenging economic conditions. The company’s full-year RCOP EBIT stood at $715.2 million, with strong performances from Convenience Retail and New Zealand operations helping offset refinery headwinds. Matt Halliday, CEO of Ampol, acknowledged the difficulties faced during the year but highlighted the company’s resilience. “The 2024 financial year was one of challenging global refining and commodity markets that impacted both our Lytton refinery and Trading and Shipping operations. “Our retail businesses were the highlight with Convenience Retail growing earnings again this year, while Z Energy delivered another resilient performance, both against the backdrop of economic environments where higher interest rates and inflation increased cost of living pressures on consumers.” The Convenience Retail segment recorded EBIT of $356.6 million, up $2 million from the previous year. Ampol’s strategy to position its company-owned network at the…

The Arnott’s Group says its latest multi-million-dollar manufacturing facility will fuel the company’s growth ambitions in the better-for-you market segment. The Rowville, Victoria factory, a green site build of 45,000 square metres, will house Good Food Partners, Arnotts’ better-for-you and snack foods business. It’s one of Australia’s largest producers of branded and private label cereals, muesli, nutritional snacks, and bars. Brands include Freedom Cereals, Messy Monkeys, Sunsol, Heritage Mill, Arnold’s Farm, Arnott’s Treatles, and Sam’s Pantry. Good Food Partners MD, Chris Diver, said the Rowville site would provide “a huge amount of capability and capacity and flexibility to grow the business”. It features three main manufacturing areas, including a dedicated allergen-free and extruded products zone, an R&D culinary centre, and two logistics warehouses. “Most people will tell you it’s a five-year journey to build a site like this. We effectively did it in less than two,” Diver said. Annually, the…

As shop theft reaches record levels in convenience stores globally, retailers are doubling down on retail crime, increasing their security budgets and turning to new technologies, including AI-powered surveillance solutions, to combat the growing problem. In this detailed feature we explore how new strategies and new AI based tools can provide practical solutions, continuing on from our recent coverage of strategies to manage staff harassment. The UK has a particular challenge in this respect. The British Retail Consortium warn that UK retail crime is now “spiralling out of control” with 20 million incidents in 2023/2024, costing UK retailers £2.2bn, up from £1.8bn in the previous year. In fact in the UK, verbal and physical attacks, violent threats, and sexual and racial abuse in shops rose to more than 2,000 incidents a day in the year to end 31 August 2024, up from 1,300 the previous year and more than three times the…