The entrepreneur behind the award-winning Whole Kids snack foods brand, Monica Meldrum, said she’s heartbroken by today’s news that the parent company she co founded, Nourish Foods Pty Ltd, is entering voluntary administration.
With a sharp deadline of Wednesday, the 13th of September, expressions of interest are urgently being sought for investors, or for the sale of the business.
Nourish Foods was founded by Monica and James Meldrum in 2005. It went on to launch the Whole Kids range of organic and allergen-friendly foods, aiming to provide nutritious snacks for children. Nourish Foods has gone on to win a number of awards, including with Monica being named a Women’s Agenda Emerging Entrepreneur of the year. It was the first company in Australia to become a certified B Corporation and has long held a commitment to balance purpose and profit.
“After 18 years of trading and leading the market with product innovation and driving forward the role of socially conscious business in Australia, we are heartbroken that it has come to this point. We are so grateful to our investors, suppliers and our customers for the incredible support we have received,” Monica told Women’s Agenda on the news today.
“We want to thank every one of them from the bottom of our hearts for supporting us and we wish we had better news today.
“We are now turning our minds to working with the administrator to seek expressions of interest for either a recapitalisation or sale of the business so that we can realise the opportunities that we have secured and see the business go on to reach its full potential.”
In 2021, Whole Kids underwent a significant transformation, with the Meldrums contending with Melbourne lockdowns while supporting their young kids at home, and dealing with setbacks like airline shutdowns in the wake of the pandemic, thereby losing one of their biggest supplier channels for a period — Qantas flights. Whole Kids went on to sign a major deal with ALDI and an agreement with PinkFong, the creators of Baby Shark. Whole Kids has had a number of female investors come on board, including high-profile investors like Adore Beauty’s Kate Morris and Business Chicks’ Emma Isaacs.
Nourish Foods recently launched two new food brands in 2023 as part of their strategy to evolve the business and leveraging the success of the Whole Kids brand, including Just Add and Offbeat.
Tim Heesh and Mark Everingham of TPH Advisory have been appointed voluntary administrators, and say they hope to work with the company’s founders and key stakeholders on the next steps for the business — including seeking expressions of interest for either a recapitalisation or sale of the business.
Heesh said the voluntary administration comes due to a lack of working capital required to support the business, with the need for working capital becoming urgent, as the owners have been attempting to secure financial investment partners over recent months.
“It is not often that a well-established business with reputable and trusted brands like these comes along. The business represents an outstanding strategic opportunity for an investor to acquire a brand portfolio that should ultimately become household names and leaders in the FMCG healthy snack market,” said Heesh.
Expressions of interest for investors of for the sale of the business close 5pm AEST, on Wednesday the 13th September 2023.