Close×

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

The latest report from RaboResearch has found impact from the Reserve Bank’s fifth interest rate rise this year on the food and beverage sector is weakening demand, raising input costs and splintering food inflation by category.

Adelaide brewer, Coopers Brewery, recorded its third year of volume growth in FY26, lifting keg sales by 7.4 per cent and reporting a 6.2 per cent profit before tax increase to $23.9 million.

Contract brewer, Tribe Breweries, has acquired Gold Coast craft brewer Black Hops out of voluntary administration. The price has not been disclosed, but Tribe says all Queensland roles and 90 per cent of jobs nationally to be retained.