Popular retailer featured on MasterChef Australia announces shock closure right before Christmas: ‘My heart is breaking’
A popular gourmet food retailer has launched a massive 40 per cent discount on its closing sale, just months after announcing its sudden collapse.
The Essential Ingredient, which featured as a specialty food brand on the MasterChef Australia cooking show, went into voluntary administration at the end of September – after almost 40 years of trading.
The Australian company, known for its high-quality groceries, pantry essentials and cookware, blamed rising rental costs and other expenses for the unexpected closure.
The online store is now permanently closed, while the Melbourne and Sydney stores will remain open until stocks last.
It is unclear when the three physical stores will close their doors for good, but the Crows Nest store on Sydney’s North Shore has announced it will be ceasing sales, leaving loyal customers devastated.
“Oh god, my heart is breaking, so many good memories and good people,” said one.
‘A sad day indeed. Such a beautiful store. These places will become a thing of the past. Sending love,” another shared.
‘No no! This makes me very sad,” one person added.
The essential ingredient on Sydney’s North Shore has launched a massive 40 per cent discount at end of sale – just months after the company announced its sudden collapse
The Australian company, known for its high-quality groceries, pantry items and cookware, blamed rising rental costs and other expenses for the unexpected closure
The company was founded in 1986 and sells cookware, kitchen appliances and culinary books from both local and international suppliers.
Robert Ditrich, Rebecca Gill and Craig Crosbie from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Australia were appointed as volunteer directors at the end of September.
The Essential Ingredient directors Syd Weddell and Peter Walmsley described the collapse at the time as a ‘huge disappointment’.
The company had been unable to return to pre-pandemic profitability despite some post-pandemic investments in growth, its directors said.
“We are committed to working with PwC and our talented staff to continue serving our highly valued clients,” they said.
The administrators revealed that the company had faced a ‘challenging’ operating environment.
“The legacy of inventory losses during the Covid shutdown and higher operating costs have all taken a toll on profitability,” Mr Ditrich said.
“Our goal is to act quickly to preserve the company and as many jobs as possible. We intend to continue operations and sell the business and assets as a going concern, with strong interest expected from potential buyers.”