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Bintani |
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On 1st July 2021, Bintani Australia, a leading wholesale distributor of ingredients to breweries and distilleries throughout Australia, acquired the hops business of Tasmania based HopCo.
The transaction further demonstrates Bintani’s commitment to its growth strategy, which has already seen the Victorian based company expand its presence by recently moving into a newly constructed state-of-the-art warehouse in Melbourne.
HopCo, founded in 2001 by father and son team John and Sandy Ross, successfully distributed hop products and brewing equipment to breweries and homebrew stores for the past 20 years.
Following the transaction, Bintani hopes to service former HopCo ingredient customers as well as assume many of its supply relationships.
“It’s a fantastic fit for Bintani in terms of our product portfolio,” explained Bintani director Phil Meddings. “We have a real belief in New Zealand hops and think they will see an upsurge in demand in future years” Mr. Meddings further explained.
“We love everything about hops but strategically, hops are competitive so integrating HopCo into our existing business will mean we can compete strongly. We have the scale and geographic footprint required to look after customers everywhere and now we’ve really enhanced the portfolio of high-quality hops we can offer our customers.”
To that end, following the deal, Sandy Ross, owner and director of HopCo, will be joining Bintani as a consultant for a short period to transition customers to Bintani. “Having Sandy on board to assist the Bintani team will ensure a smooth transition and that there is no disruption in supply to HopCo’s previous customers. We’re glad to have him,” Mr. Meddings expounded.
For Sandy and HopCo, it is the end of an era, but he will still be keeping one foot in the brewing industry via his consultant role Bintani. Sandy also intends to continue to sell high-quality brewing equipment though a new business, Rossbrew Pty Ltd.
“I’m feeling a lot of mixed feelings, there's some sadness, there's some happiness, it's been an absolute rollercoaster, but it’s been great,” stated Mr. Ross.
“If anyone could take on HopCo’s business, then I’m pleased it's Bintani.”
