$20m impact investment in Aboriginal food business
Biripi Capital, Australia’s first Aboriginal-owned private equity firm, today announced the financial close of an initial tranche of AU$20 million investment from Melbourne-based Hudson Food Group. With this investment, Hudson Food Group takes a minority ownership position in Supply Nation-registered company The Dreaming Food Group, which was established by Biripi Capital in 2021 to compete at scale in Australia’s food industry, focusing on mainstream food services distribution, food manufacturing and brand creation.
With the first stage of its manufacturing capability set to come online in early 2022, The Dreaming Food Group is targeting AU$100 million in revenue within the next two years.
The Dreaming Food Group, co-founded by Aboriginal business leaders David Liddiard OAM and Michael Manikas, both Biripi men, is a for-purpose enterprise that is seeking to redefine the role business can play in creating positive social impact. One-third of all The Dreaming Food Group’s profits will go to The Dreaming Foundation, a not-for-profit charity established to fund Aboriginal-led organisations in delivering programs and initiatives that directly contribute to Closing the Gap.
“Today we’re excited to share with Australia a new model for corporate purpose, and it’s incredibly fitting that we are doing so as a First Nations-owned and -led business,” said Manikas, Executive Chairman of The Dreaming Food Group. “We’ve been working closely with the Hudson Food Group over the past six months to develop an investment structure that embeds maximum social impact into the very core of our operating model. This investment will be critical for our growth and impact ambitions over the next two years.”
With its head office in Sydney on Eora Country, The Dreaming Food Group is focused on four key areas of growth: food services (providing hospitality venues with over 5500 pantry-style food supplies), food manufacturing, the development of consumer food products and brands and native ingredients.
The investment from Hudson Food Group will fund a quicker route to scalability in the market as well as open additional growth opportunities across the business, with a specific emphasis on establishing a world-class manufacturing capability.
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