Lion has acquired a minority stake in Schibello Coffee, which will continue to operate independently under the leadership of its founders, Ross Schinella and Anthony Sorbello.
Lion’s investment will allow Schibello Coffee to expand its business, which includes the Schibello, Arte Caffé and Cleanskin coffee brands, Paddington Fine Tea, and Chocoloco hot chocolate.
Established in Sydney in 1999, Schibello Coffee now supplies close to 2,000 customers nationwide.
Lion CEO Stuart Irvine said the company has a long history of partnering with entrepreneurs and helping their businesses flourish.
“We are looking forward to working with Ross and Anthony to build their great brands in the growing hot beverages category and realise the synergies the Group has with Lion’s alcohol, dairy and juice businesses.”
Schibello Coffee CEO Ross Schinella said the investment is a fantastic development for the coffee company.
“We’re at an exciting stage and Lion’s investment will allow us to continue to accelerate our growth trajectory,” he said. “
While we will still operate independently, we’re looking forward to working with Lion on various joint initiatives where both Lion and Schibello Coffee will benefit from utilising our combined skill sets to create new opportunities for both parties.”
The partnership will broaden the availability of Schibello Coffee products via Lion’s extensive customer network.
The acquisition is in line with Lion’s strategy to make strategic investments in related growth businesses in the food and beverage sector and follows recent similar investments in order management automation solution Ordermentum; Barcats, a platform linking hospitality venues to short-term workers; Made By Cow, a high-pressure cold pressed, unpasteurised milk product; and Good Buzz, a crafted kombucha brand based in New Zealand.