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There's never a dull moment in the dynamic Australasian packaging industry, with M&A activity, leadership changes, and product innovation keeping our news desk busy all year long.

From Orora's booming growth over the financial year, to the Australian Government's pledge to make all packaging in the country reusable, compostable or recyclable by 2025, to needles in strawberries and plastic bags out of supermarkets, to the first ever Print21 + PKN LIVE joint event, 2018 was a rollercoaster of a year for the packaging industry... and PKN was there to cover all the news highlights.

See our review of the year that was in the latest issue of PKN magazine.

Food & Drink Business

Australian Vintage has secured a $128 million debt refinancing through to March 2028, with an option to extend a further year to 2029, as the McGuigan wines owner reports a significant second-half cash turnaround and upgraded sales momentum heading into FY27.

Endeavour Group has used its first investor day since demerging from Woolworths to lay out a three-year transformation plan targeting $300 million in cost savings, a scaled-back dividend payout, and the exit of most of its winery and vineyard portfolio.

The winners of the 2026 International Wine Challenge (IWC) have been selected, with Australia performing incredibly well. Beresford Estate and Penfolds were singled out, receiving the top International Trophy in the Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon categories respectively.