From Ballarat to 16,500 Korean shelves

A family mint manufacturer founded in 1995 has landed the kind of distribution deal most Australian food brands never get. The hard part starts now.

Ferndale Foods Australia, a Ballarat manufacturer founded by Bruce Edward in 1995, has its Jila gum and mint range rolling into 16,500 stores across two major South Korean retail networks: CU Convenience, the convenience chain operated by BGF Retail, and Olive Young, the health and beauty retailer. A further 11,000 stores are expected to begin stocking the range in the first quarter of 2027, which would take the brand to around 27,500 outlets.

Operations manager Leigh Edward frames the scale in terms of access rather than volume. South Korea has a population of around 50 million and more than 55,000 convenience stores, and the company's target is 27,500 distribution points by the end of June 2027.

The capacity to supply that came first, which is the part most export stories skip. Ferndale invested $1 million into expanding mint production around 18 months ago, and a further $3 million packing line is scheduled for installation in early 2027, increasing capacity fivefold. The business employs roughly 100 people across its Ballarat operations. Separately it has put $23 million into the healthy snacking bar sector through subsidiary FoodLine Australia, which is forecast to produce more than 55 million bars in 2027 for global brands.

Edward is clear that shelf space is the beginning rather than the win. Getting products ranged in-store is only the first step, he says, and the focus now shifts from distribution to telling Korean consumers about Jila. He describes it as a cutthroat market and says the goal is for the brand to become embedded there as the mint of choice.

That is the honest read on what a listing actually buys. A convenience chain gives a brand presence and a sales target, and the brand carries the marketing cost of converting presence into repeat purchase. Products that do not move get delisted at review, which is why the marketing spend after the deal usually exceeds the cost of winning it.

The early success has pulled in approaches from Japan, Singapore and the Middle East. After 31 years in the market, Edward says, it is refreshing when significant new opportunities arrive.

The sequence here is the lesson, and it is the reverse of how most small exporters go about it. Ferndale expanded capacity before it chased the shelf space, which is why a 16,500-store listing is an opportunity rather than a crisis. If you are weighing an export push, answer the dull question first: at what order volume does your production break, and what does fixing that cost. A distributor will not wait while you install a line. Then budget for the marketing after the listing, because that is where the money actually goes and where brands that got the deal still fail. Expect Ferndale to convert the Japanese and Singaporean enquiries within eighteen months, and expect its real test to arrive at the first Korean range review rather than at the launch.