For years it was a fruitful relationship, but in court papers seen by news.com.au, lodged in the Victorian Supreme Court last month, Fonterra alleged Bega is sabotaging its own brand so it can shift focus to a raft of cheese and dairy products it acquired in a 2017 deal with Mondelez. Fonterra’s bid to buy into Bega comes days after Japan’s Kirin Holdings Co Ltd bought a 10 percent, king-making stake in WCB. According to court papers, some Woolworths supermarkets have already been briefed on what to expect. Fonterra is huge – its products account for more than a quarter of total New Zealand merchandise exports (stuff we sell overseas), and 7% of our … Fonterra and its … The Kiwi company also said use of the Bega logo and trademark on its new products was a violation of the terms. UPDATED: THE world's biggest dairy exporter, Fonterra, has entered the battle for Australia's dairy assets, buying up to 10 per cent of Bega Cheese after the market closed on Thursday. NEW Zealand super co-operative Fonterra has sold its nine per cent stake in NSW South Coast-based dairy company Bega Cheese for $74 million. Now, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) is reporting that Fonterra has hired broker Goldman Sachs to buy 10% of one of the bidders, Bega Cheese. New Zealand based dairy giant Fonterra last week bought 9.3 million shares in New South Wales dairy company Bega for a total cost of $46 million, sending Bega’s share price to a record high. Fonterra is seeking an injunction from the Victorian Supreme Court to restrain Bega from using its trademark on any unauthorised products. Fonterra Brands (Australia) handle the marketing, advertising and promotion of our products within Australia. The case is likely to be heard in the middle of this year. “Fonterra, as Bonlac Foods, in 1983 entered into an agreement with Bega Cheese Limited for the licence and marketing of the Bega brand. Since 1983, we’ve turned Bega into a $230 million brand and one of the leading cheese brands in the dairy case. Blind mystic Baba Vanga who foresaw 9/11 saw cure for cancer... What Fabio looks like now: 2020 photos of iconic Italian mal... Woolworths giving all customers a free coffee when shopping. Fonterra claimed Bega’s move to rebrand those products constituted a breach of agreement. We know dairy. Bega owns about 18 percent of … New Zealand cooperative Fonterra is a global dairy giant with a strong presence in Australia, selling Mainland Cheese, Perfect Italiano cheese and Western Star butter. “Fonterra continues to exclusively sell and market Bega cheese products in Australia. In exchange, Bega Cheese receives a substantial royalty for producing the cheese. Nationwide News Pty Limited Copyright © 2020. ALEX SINNOTT and PETER HUNT, The Weekly Times. Bega alleges that not only has Fonterra failed to adequately do that, it has also further breached the deal by promoting and innovating its own product suite more than Bega-branded products. It has bought 9.3 million shares at $A4.95 apiece for a total of $A46 million, it said in a statement. Yes, Saputo might be Canadian owned and Fonterra’s controlled from across the ditch but they both have a strong farming business culture, as clearly does Bega even if … Using the Site after the Terms have … Bega Cheesehas been taken to court over a dispute about its recently acquired products.Source:News Corp Australia. A Fonterra spokesman told news.com.au: “Fonterra has a longstanding agreement with Bega Cheese Limited that gives us the exclusive licence of the Bega brand within Australia and we have taken court action to resolve a dispute with Bega Cheese Limited about that agreement. Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter, snagged 6 per cent of Bega in a share raid in October and has since crept up to 9 per cent of the register. FONTERRA HAS BOUGHT a 6% stake in Australian dairy company Bega Cheese Ltd for AUS$46 million (NZ$52m). This includes “all natural and processed cheddar cheese products”, including Bega Stringers and butter products. Please read the Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (“Fonterra”, “us”, “we”, or “our”) website (“Site”) terms and conditions (“Terms”). Bega responded the following month, saying it "expressly rejects any wide-reaching, unqualified and without legal precedent claims by Fonterra that suggest Bega should not use Bega trademarks or any similar trademark in Australia without Fonterra's consent". SOME of the country’s favourite food brands are locked in a fight over who will become the biggest cheese of them all. The terms of that agreement grant Fonterra an exclusive licence for the Bega brand within Australia. This includes “Beqa” branded cheese which is cheese manufactured by Bega and sold under the “beqa” brand by Fonterra Brands (Australia). “Bega Cheese’s current business relationship with Fonterra continues in the same fashion as it has done for many years.”. 04 Nov 2013 --- Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited has acquired a 6 per cent shareholding in Australian dairy company Bega Cheese Limited. Australia is the source of Fonterra’s largest milk pool outside of New Zealand and home to some of the country's favourite dairy brands. We collect around 20 percent of the total Australian milk pool annually from our farmer suppliers. Fonterra claimed Bega’s strategy behind its new slate of products created direct competition for the original Bega Cheese-branded products marketed and distributed by Fonterra. Fonterra, Bega and Saputo pay no levies to help fund Dairy Australia. News.com.au understands Bega’s plan is to continue its rebrand of former Kraft products to Bega products, including from Kraft Mac & Cheese to Bega Mac & Cheese. The world’s largest dairy exporter, Fonterra, has bought a 6% stake in Bega Cheese, causing the Australian dairy business’s shares to lift 9.75% in early trade. Bega Cheese's other major consumer and foodservice packaged goods brands are " Vegemite ", "Farmers Table", "Zoosh", "Picky Picky", "Tatura" and "Dairymont". September 30, 2020 12:01am. That's a 12 per cent premium to Bega's closing share price on the ASX on Thursday. Chief financial officer Lukas Paravicini said the co-op was focused on investing in higher value-add dairy products which delivered the best returns for its farmer shareholders. For more information click here. For example, Kraft peanut butter is now called Bega The Good Nut peanut butter while Kraft Singles became Dairylea Slices. And according to one company, Bega has been very bad. Fonterra said this was also a breach of contract. For years it was a fruitful relationship, but in court papers seen by news.com.au, lodged in the Victorian Supreme Court last month, Fonterra alleged Bega is sabotaging its own brand so it can shift focus to a raft of cheese and dairy products it acquired in a 2017 deal with Mondelez. BEGA is a specialist in all questions of lighting and illumination technology - for outdoors and all areas of architecture. It said that aside from 2015, Mainland and Perfect Italiano received much more of the marketing spend. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), UK and European Union reach Brexit deal ahead of crucial deadline, Royal Caribbean launches legal action against families of White Island volcano tragedy, Defence Chief thanks troops, acknowledges 'difficult' Afghanistan inquiry in Christmas message, China suspends Australian timber imports from NSW and Western Australia, Police investigating after woman on superyacht arrives in Cairns with COVID-19, What are the rules about hugging? “Bega Cheese has had a successful relationship with Fonterra over many years, we are disappointed with Fonterra’s court action, the company is very confident of our legal position. Fonterra alleges the use of the Bega brand on new products has eroded the commercial value of the brand it licenced in 2002 by "diluting the distinctiveness of the brand". What does Fonterra do? Bega made product regularly sells at the rate of over 1 million packs of cheese per day across a variety of brands and customers. When the licensing deal was struck, Fonterra agreed to "promote and develop sales" of the products. The 9.3 million shares were purchased at AUD4.95 per share for a total cost of AUD46 million. With a long history in dairy, we harness our global dairy expertise and local knowledge to support our farmers, partners and people. All times AEDT (GMT +11). The news of Fonterra's $46 million share buy-up sent Bega shares to a record high of $4.94, before closing at $4.83, up 42 cents, or 9.5 per cent. Do we need masks? "Other than in 2015, Fonterra has spent substantially higher sums on advertising and promotion of its own brands, Mainland and Perfect Italiano," the counterclaim said. The buy-up resulted in Fonterra having acquired a 6 per cent share in Bega. The "Bega" branded Australia retail and foodservice cheese products are distributed by Fonterra under a long-term agreement. ... and has offered 1.2 of its own … Units are listed on the NZX Main Board and on the ASX, and are able to be freely bought and sold in the same way as any other listed security. Fonterra has a longstanding commercial and distribution agreement with Bega Cheese Limited granting Fonterra the “sole and exclusive licence” of the Bega brand within Australia. The move to expand the range of products carrying the Bega logo raised concern at Fonterra. The agreement will expire in May, 2026. "Unfortunately, we're in a legal dispute over the use of the Bega brand on peanut butter and other products," it said. The trial, which opened in Melbourne on Monday, will run for five weeks, with a further two weeks of hearings in February. Since the acquisition, Bega has made a move to change the Kraft branding on many of those products to Bega branding. The Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund (Fund) is a registered managed investment scheme under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Fonterra also said the alleged breaches "unless restrained, cause significant damage to the existing reputation of the Bega trademarks for representing natural cheese sourced from Australia". “Bega Cheese is the owner of the Bega Brand in Australia and around the world,” a spokesman told news.com.au. Last year, Bega said it “expressly rejected” Fonterra’s suggestion that it couldn’t use its own trademark brand without Fonterra’s consent. The sale of Fonterra's shareholding has no implications for its long-standing relationship with Bega, which includes a license on the Bega brand and a supply contract for cheese. Court documents, seen by the ABC, show Fonterra sent an email in July 2017, asking for confirmation that "Bega will not begin using any of the Bega trademarks or any similar trademark, including the word Bega, to market products in Australia without Fonterra's consent". New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has rights to the Bega Cheese brand until 2026 and doesn't like it appearing on products newly acquired by Bega, like peanut butter. Fonterra is a co-operative that buys milk from its farmer shareholders and processes it, mainly for export. Bega Cheese Australia Terms & Conditions General. Fonterra, the New Zealand-based dairy giant, has started legal action against Bega Cheese over the Australian group's moves to rebrand some of … IT MIGHT be your favourite, but Bega Cheese is being taken to court by New Zealand dairy company Fonterra, who allege foul play. Specifically, it cites the amount spent on advertising and promoting Bega products by Fonterra declining from $660,000 in 2011 to $15,000 in 2017. Sources close to the deal have suggested that Fonterra wants a blocking stake in the event that Bega does become the subject of a takeover. Share this on Facebook In 2002 it made a deal to become the licensee of the Bega Cheese brand, including blocks and slices of cheese and Stringers, until 2026. Boy, 3, bitten by deadly snake in Western Australia, saved b... Scottish influencer who looks like a ‘real-life Barbie doll’. The sale of its shares, however, did not change Fonterra's commercial relationship with Bega, which includes a licence on the Bega brand and supply contract for cheese. Last year, Bega announced a $160 million capital raising through a share offering to institutional investors. 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Fonterra already licenses the Bega brand and has a cheese supply contract with the Australian company. Bega cheese stringers are also in the spotlight.Source:News Limited. The agreement was going well until Bega Cheese announced in 2017 that it would buy a suite of Kraft products from Mondelez international, which it started replacing with the Bega brand. The Federal Court dismissed an appeal by Heinz and Kraft to prevent Bega using the packaging Bega is fighting a separate legal battle with Fonterra over the use of its own brand US food companies Kraft and Heinz wanted to stop Bega Cheese from using a distinctive type of packaging on the peanut butter products Bega is currently selling. At the heart of it is a well-known brand, Bega Cheese. The news of Fonterra's $46 million share buy-up sent Bega shares to a record high of $4.94 as the Australian market opened at 1000 AEST, marking a 12 per cent rise or 53 cents. 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