Dick Smith Foods
Encyclopedia
Dick Smith Foods is a food brand created by Australia
n entrepreneur
Dick Smith
to provide Australian owned and produced alternatives to products from foreign-owned food companies.
It was formed in 1999 largely in response to the high market share of those companies, and the increasingly frequent take over of previously Australian-owned companies like Arnott's
and Pauls
. In particular, Smith was concerned that many companies which were no longer Australian owned still marketed as "Australian products": the iconic Australian breakfast spread Vegemite
, for example, is owned by Kraft Foods
, which in turn was (until 2007) owned by the Altria Group
(formerly known as tobacco
giant Philip Morris).
Smith announced in 2011 that he would be taking control of the management of the company again, after turnover dropped from $80 million to $8 million over the previous five years. Implementing a vision for the return to Australian owned, Australian grown produce where all the profits stay here, instead of heading offshore as they do with the majority of foreign owned food suppliers. The company had previously been managed, and some of its products produced under licence, by the Sanitarium Health Food Company
, which pays Dick Smith Foods for the rights to the company's branding. DSF then donates a portion of its profits to charitable causes. In 2004, Smith announced his intention to make Dick Smith Foods a commercial operation, and to list it on the stock market by 2009.
Generally the brand focuses on producing local alternatives to products with large market shares like Kraft
peanut butter
and Vegemite
. In October 2004, Dick Smith offered to purchase Vegemite
from Kraft, but was unsuccessful.
In 2006 the Herald Sun
newspaper reported that Dick Smith Foods turnover had halved, due in part to the difficulty of finding local suppliers for their products.
| last = Cherry
| first = Brenton
| author-link =
| title = EXCLUSIVE: Aussie entrepeneur Dick Smith brings business and jobs to the beaches
| newspaper = Manly Daily
| pages =
| year = 2011
| date = 2011-03-11
| url = http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/exclusive-aussie-entrepeneur-brings-business-home-to-the-beaches/}}
took the company to court. The issue was a trademark dispute over DSF's Temptin brand of chocolate biscuits, which Arnott's alleged had diluted their trademark as a similar biscuit (the Tim Tam
), in similarly-designed packaging. The case was settled out of court, and Smith responded by casting Greg Arnott, a member of the Arnott family, in a commercial for Temptins.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
Dick Smith
Dick Smith (entrepreneur)
Dick Smith, AO is an Australian entrepreneur, businessman, aviator, and political activist. He is the founder of Dick Smith Electronics, Dick Smith Foods and Australian Geographic, and was selected as the 1986 Australian of the Year.-Electronics:In 1968, Dick Smith founded electronics retailer...
to provide Australian owned and produced alternatives to products from foreign-owned food companies.
It was formed in 1999 largely in response to the high market share of those companies, and the increasingly frequent take over of previously Australian-owned companies like Arnott's
Arnott's Biscuits Holdings
Arnott's Biscuits Holdings , is a subsidiary of the Campbell Soup Company of the United States.In Australia Arnott's is the largest producer of biscuits and the second-largest supplier of snack food.-History:...
and Pauls
Parmalat
Parmalat SpA is a multinational Italian dairy and food corporation. Having become the leading global company in the production of ultra high temperature milk, the company collapsed in 2003 with a €14 billion hole in its accounts in what remains Europe's biggest bankruptcy...
. In particular, Smith was concerned that many companies which were no longer Australian owned still marketed as "Australian products": the iconic Australian breakfast spread Vegemite
Vegemite
Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries...
, for example, is owned by Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
, which in turn was (until 2007) owned by the Altria Group
Altria Group
Altria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...
(formerly known as tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
giant Philip Morris).
Licensing arrangements and business
Dick Smith Foods does not manufacture its own food products. Instead, it sources products from other Australian-owned companies, which licence the Dick Smith Foods brand label.Smith announced in 2011 that he would be taking control of the management of the company again, after turnover dropped from $80 million to $8 million over the previous five years. Implementing a vision for the return to Australian owned, Australian grown produce where all the profits stay here, instead of heading offshore as they do with the majority of foreign owned food suppliers. The company had previously been managed, and some of its products produced under licence, by the Sanitarium Health Food Company
Sanitarium Health Food Company
The Sanitarium Health & Wellbeing Company is the trading name of two sister food companies . Both are wholly owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church....
, which pays Dick Smith Foods for the rights to the company's branding. DSF then donates a portion of its profits to charitable causes. In 2004, Smith announced his intention to make Dick Smith Foods a commercial operation, and to list it on the stock market by 2009.
Generally the brand focuses on producing local alternatives to products with large market shares like Kraft
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
peanut butter
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and parts of Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, sometimes in combination as in the peanut butter and jelly...
and Vegemite
Vegemite
Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries...
. In October 2004, Dick Smith offered to purchase Vegemite
Vegemite
Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries...
from Kraft, but was unsuccessful.
In 2006 the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
newspaper reported that Dick Smith Foods turnover had halved, due in part to the difficulty of finding local suppliers for their products.
| last = Cherry
| first = Brenton
| author-link =
| title = EXCLUSIVE: Aussie entrepeneur Dick Smith brings business and jobs to the beaches
| newspaper = Manly Daily
| pages =
| year = 2011
| date = 2011-03-11
| url = http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/exclusive-aussie-entrepeneur-brings-business-home-to-the-beaches/}}
Legal issues
Dick Smith Foods ran into legal difficulties in 2003, when Arnott's Biscuits HoldingsArnott's Biscuits Holdings
Arnott's Biscuits Holdings , is a subsidiary of the Campbell Soup Company of the United States.In Australia Arnott's is the largest producer of biscuits and the second-largest supplier of snack food.-History:...
took the company to court. The issue was a trademark dispute over DSF's Temptin brand of chocolate biscuits, which Arnott's alleged had diluted their trademark as a similar biscuit (the Tim Tam
Tim Tam
Tim Tam is a brand of chocolate biscuit currently manufactured by Arnott's in Australia. A Tim Tam is composed of two layers of chocolate malted biscuit, separated by a light chocolate cream filling, and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate....
), in similarly-designed packaging. The case was settled out of court, and Smith responded by casting Greg Arnott, a member of the Arnott family, in a commercial for Temptins.