Bedford backed social enterprise, Cultivate Food and Beverage will officially acquire Adelaide Hills Foods (AHF) this month, as it earmarks major growth plans for the hugely successful and iconic South Australian bakery and food manufacturing company.
From the 1st of February, Adelaide Hills Foods, based in Lobethal will become part of Cultivate Food and Beverage. This endeavour is a Bedford-backed social enterprise which launched in early 2023, which provides opportunities for people experiencing barriers to work.
Cultivate’s investment promises to create more inclusive employment opportunities for South Australians and will bring increased production capability and labour for Adelaide Hills Foods.
Travis Kerkman, Bedford Divisional general manager, hospitality services said, “The Adelaide Hills Foods and Cultivate partnership delivers the South Australian food manufacturing sector significant growth opportunities.”
“At Cultivate, we have a scalable workforce and production facilities, enabling Adelaide Hills Foods to grow its national retail footprint and meet market demand.
“We are committed to delivering more of Adelaide Hills Foods’ delicious, quality products to consumers around the country and this aligns with Cultivate’s strategy to expand services to more partners as we enter the retail industry,” said Kerkman.
Andrew and Susan Horwood, the founders of Adelaide Hills Foods and their family will remain an integral part of the business, which has a national distribution network of over 1,500 retailers, including Coles, Woolworths, Foodland and IGA.
“We are thrilled to work in partnership with Cultivate to build our production capacity to meet the ever-growing demand for Adelaide Hills Foods product range. Our Lobethal factory is near capacity and Cultivate provides the perfect business solution with access to their Brooklyn Park facility in the immediate term and an expanded workforce,” said Horwood.
“We are excited for the future and the next growth phase for Adelaide Hills Foods and our stable of brands, which includes over 300 product lines,” said Horwood.
Under the acquisition, Cultivates workforce will grow to over 100, with the addition of Adelaide Hills Foods existing workforce of 76.
In addition to the much-loved Emmaline’s product range, Adelaide Hills Foods also boasts Positano, Emma + Myrtles Bakehouse, James Road and Barossa Pizza in its stable of brands.