Griffin's Foods

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Griffin's Food Limited
Type Private Company
Industry Food Manufacturing
Founded 1864
Headquarters Auckland, New Zealand
Products Griffins, Eta, Nice & Natural
Employees 800
Parent Pacific Equity Partners

Griffin's Foods Limited is an Australasian owned biscuit, snack food and confectionery manufacturer operating in New Zealand. The company has sales of approximately $NZ300 million. Earnings are not disclosed as the company is privately owned by Pacific Equity Partners,[1] an Australasian private equity fund.

History

The company was founded by John Griffin in Nelson, New Zealand in 1864 [2] as a flour and cocoa miller. Newspaper records show biscuits were in production by the 1880s and the confectionery arm of the business launched in 1886. By the 1890s Griffins were producing a range of candied peels and by the late 1900s drinking cocoa.

The company went public (as Griffin & Sons) to fund expansion and the replacement of a factory destroyed by fire. It expanded, making army ration biscuits during World War II [2] until in 1962 it was purchased by Nabisco.[3] In 1989 Griffin's acquired biscuit company Hudsons, taking on the copyright for the famous Hudson's icon Cookie Bear. When Nabisco was effectively broken up, Griffin's was acquired by Danone [4] in 1990. In 2006 Danone divested Griffin's to Pacific Equity Partners.[5]

The Company today

Griffin's has two factories in Auckland. A Lower Hutt plant closed in 2008 with the loss of 200 jobs,[6] with all production transferred to the Auckland sites. In 2009 Griffin's moved the production of its cream filled biscuits, which account for 2.5% of production, to Fiji.[7] The company currently employs approximately 800 people.[2]

Products

The company's food range comprises:

  • Biscuits mainly under the "Griffin's" and "Huntley and Palmers" brands
  • Salty snacks (mainly potato chips and peanuts) under the Eta brand
  • Wrapped snacks under the Nice & Natural brand.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.pep.com.au/pages/content.asp?pid=3#14
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://www.griffins.co.nz/about-griffins
  3. ↑ http://www.eta.co.nz/Corporate/CompanyInformation/History/1962.aspx
  4. ↑ "Big players call tune". The New Zealand Herald. 9 January 1999. Retrieved 2 October 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Pacific Equity buys Griffin's Foods". The Age (Melbourne). 1 April 2006. 
  6. ↑ "200 jobs set to go as cookie factory crumbles". The New Zealand Herald. NZPA. 16 November 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2011. 
  7. ↑ http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3084306/Griffins-moves-biscuits-to-Fiji
  8. ↑ Ward, Stephen (3 March 2007). "Griffins tipped to gobble up more". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2 October 2011. 
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