• Growth Tank founder David Willey.
    Growth Tank founder David Willey.
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Youth marketing and recruiting experts shared some surprising insights on Gen Z workers at the NextGen Breakfast Forum this morning at AUSPACK 2019.

By 2025, Generation Z will comprise more than a quarter of the Australian workforce, and Growth Tank founder and a youth marketing expert David Willey shared his insights on how to connect with this important group.

Gen Z members prioritise positive workplace and culture higher than financial benefits, and place a higher importance on job security and fair pay than their millennial counterparts.

To make this group happy and productive, WIlley says, companies will need to be seen to be ethical, offer clear and structured career progression, and offer them personal (in addition to professional) development opportunities that help them grow as an individual.

They also value regular feedback, flexibility and work-life balance, he says. “Understanding that your employee’s life is more important than their work is key.” 

Presenter PWC Australia’s Justin Ling said the company uses more digital channels than ever to recruit and engage with its younger recruits.

He also noted that alternative pathways to employment are growing, and he predicted that school leaver recruitment will overtake graduate recruitment within five years.

Food & Drink Business

Tasmanian whisky producer Lark Distilling Co has closed FY26 with fourth quarter net sales of $5 million, up 44 per cent on the prior corresponding period (pcp), taking full year net sales to $18 million, a 15 per cent increase on FY25.

Lupin protein company, Wide Open Agriculture (WOA), has started winding down its German production facility as it shifts to a contract manufacturing model, with the ASX-listed business ending the June quarter with $1.27 million in cash and roughly 2.1 quarters of funding.

Every three years, Australia's food and beverage manufacturing industry gathers at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre for foodpro – and this year Food & Drink Business was there as an exclusive media partner of the foodpro Industry Hub. In two minutes, here's a taste of some of what caught our eye across the show floor – the latest in processing and packaging, automation and robotics, food safety, sustainability and AI, and the people behind it.