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Gift baskets drive Maggie Beer growth

A strong performance from its new hamper business and the lifting of lockdowns in the eastern states has Maggie Beer Holdings on track to boost group revenue to $100 million this financial year.

Nov 29, 2021, updated Nov 30, 2021
After looking to exit the dairy segment in 2022, Maggie Beer Holdings sees a bright future in South Australian milk, cheese and ice cream. (Image via Maggie Beer).

After looking to exit the dairy segment in 2022, Maggie Beer Holdings sees a bright future in South Australian milk, cheese and ice cream. (Image via Maggie Beer).

The company which includes SA brands Maggie Beer and Paris Creek Farms announced to the Australian Securities Exchange this month it had achieved 84.1 per cent net sales growth in the September quarter this year compared to the same period in 2020.

E-commerce was responsible for the majority of the growth, now accounting for 44 per cent of group net sales compared to just 2 per cent a year ago.

Maggie Beer Holdings acquired Hampers & Gifts Australia in May this year, helping it achieve net sales of $86.7 million in 2020-21.

It has begun the 2022 financial year with a surge, driven by a 154 per cent increase in e-commerce net sales, which is complemented by the everyday and Christmas hamper range that features Maggie Beer products.

The listed company says it has sufficient stock in place to profit from an expected uplift in consumer demand in the lead up to the festive season.

CEO and Managing Director Chantale Millard said the integration of Hampers & Gifts Australia was already providing synergies and strong growth.

“We are looking forward to a busy Christmas trading period in both retail grocery and e- commerce, with the businesses fully stocked and ready for the increase in consumer demand,” she said in a statement to the ASX this month.

“We are on track to achieve our aspirational revenue and EBITDA targets for FY22 and look forward to the remainder of FY22 as we continue to grow our four premium brands.”

The company listed as a technology firm in 2004 and moved into the food and beverage sector in 2016 when it purchased a 48 per cent stake in Maggie Beer Products.

It bought SA biodynamic dairy business B.-d. Farm Paris Creek in 2017 and Melbourne’s Saint David Dairy in 2018 before acquiring the remaining 52 per cent of Maggie Beer in 2019 and changing its name from Longtable Group to Maggie Beer Holdings last year to better reflect its principal brand.

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Barossa Valley food icon Maggie Beer remains involved with the company as a non-executive director and brand ambassador.

Beer’s career in the food industry spans more than 40 years, beginning as a farmer at the Pheasant Farm in the Barossa in 1979, which led to a farm shop and soon after a nationally acclaimed restaurant, followed by a commercial food production business, Maggie Beer Products.

MBH chairman Reg Weine told shareholders at the AGM this month that the 2021 financial year was a pivotal year for the company.

“The group achieved a positive net profit, reflecting the underlying strength of our premium brands, our focus on continuous improvement and innovation, and our fast growing direct-to-consumer e-commerce business,” he said.

“The Hampers and Gifts Australia acquisition, which completed in May 2021, has created a large scale, premium-branded, direct-to-consumer business that leverages and strengthens our core Maggie Beer Products business.

“We are incredibly positive on the outlook for the remainder of the year, and we remain very much on track to achieve our target of $100 million in Group revenue this financial year.”

The company’s share price has had a positive uplift this month, touching $0.55 last week to give it a market capitalisation of $193 million after its share price started November at $0.43.

Maggie Beer Holdings was ranked No. 53 in InDaily’s 2021 South Australian Business Index of the state’s top 100 companies.

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