Woolworths and Coles vegan food supplier Fenn Foods collapses

A major supplier of plant-based and meat-free foods has gone bankrupt, leaving supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles facing potential product shortages.

Queensland-based company Fenn Foods – which claimed to be Australia’s first certified carbon-neutral, plant-based food manufacturer – went bankrupt on October 9.

Fenn Foods was launched in 2015 by Michelin star chef Alejandro Cancino and employed 32 staff.

Mr. Cancino and his wife led the company’s recipe development, which focused on catering to vegan diets.

Fenn Foods merged with the plant-based division of competitor All G Foods in 2023 and sourced its Veef and Lovebuds from Woolworths and Coles.

Ken Whittingham and Mark Robinson of Fort Restructuring were appointed to oversee the liquidation, which came amid declining interest in meat alternatives.

“The meat-free and plant-based sector has gone through something of a boom and then consolidation phase in recent years and there is no doubt that the Covid-19 shutdown has affected key wholesale and restaurant channels for producers,” Mr Whittingham told us. news.com.au.

Amid fears of product shortages, Gold Coast-based Smart Foods has since agreed to acquire Fenn Foods’ key assets, including its factories, equipment, shares, Veef and Love Buds brand names, registered IP and intellectual property.

Fenn Foods was a major supplier with products in Woolworths and Coles

“As one of the largest suppliers of plant-based and meat-free products to major supermarkets in Australia, there was a very real risk that consumers would experience product shortages,” Mr Whittingham said.

‘This combined with the fact that we are dealing with stockpiles of perishable goods meant we had to act quickly to ensure the best possible outcome. This transaction was completed within seven days of our appointment as trustee, following discussions with several potential buyers.”

Smart Foods could also offer new positions to up to half of Fenn Foods’ former employees.

Chief executive Raghu Reddy hopes to expand the former Fenn Foods brands through more foodservice and retail channels and cement its place in the plant-based market by streamlining operations, fostering key partnerships and focusing on innovation.

The administrators are also in the process of finding payouts for creditors and employee rights from Fenn Foods’ remaining assets.

Gold Coast-based Smart Foods has agreed to acquire key assets of Fenn Foods, including the Veef and Love Buds brand names

The collapse of Fenn Foods follows that of another major food supplier, The Essential Ingredient, in September.

The company, which operated for 34 years, was best known for its specialty food brands.

South Australian dairy company Beston Global Food Company, which imported dairy products, also went bankrupt last month, leaving 160 employees in the lurch.