Kerry Red Arrow assumes direct distribution in Australia

Kerry, the world's leading taste and nutrition company, will assume direct distribution of Red Arrow^TM products from Oppenheimer in the Australian market from 28 October 2021, enabling customers to continue delivering great tasting and sustainable smoke and grill flavourings to consumers.

Red Arrow has become synonymous with smoke and grill, leading the industry for over 60 years in the technology, earning global recognition and the reputation for being a trusted, quality supplier of products, technical services, and equipment. Acquired by Kerry in 2015, Red Arrow's heritage combined with Kerry's scale, application expertise, and consumer insights-driven innovation has made the two businesses together the industry standard and authoritative experts in smoke and grill flavourings.

(Photo courtesy: Kerry)

Kerry Red Arrow's^TM expertise at converting smokehouses to the application of smoke flavourings has enabled customers to manufacture products more consistently and efficiently, allowing for greater versatility while maintaining excellent product quality.  Meat manufacturers and consumers alike will also experience the positive impact on sustainability through lower carbon emissions, less water usage and use of cleaning chemicals.

Smoke and grill flavours continue to be a main feature in meat and snack seasonings, marinades, plant based, meals, sides and sauce applications. Created from burning wood and capturing the smoke, these flavours replicate the experience created when cooking with fire, and impart delicious, craveable taste and aromatics into globally-inspired barbecue flavoured foods.

“With direct distribution now under Kerry, this broadens opportunities for us to better serve our customers with more holistic solutions to meet their needs and consumer demands as we leverage Kerry Red Arrow^TM smoke and grill technology to drive innovation in our taste and nutrition solutions,” says Christine Giuliano, GM & Commercial Lead for Kerry Australia and New Zealand.

According to Innova, the number of new launches with BBQ smoke and grill flavours have doubled in the last four years. This popularity has been driven largely by the snacks category which accounts for over 50% of smoke and grill flavour launches. Kerry’s 2021 Australia Taste Charts show that BBQ, smoke and grill remains a favourite among consumers in Australia. However, interest in smoke is growing beyond traditional tastes and formats with cherrywood, applewood and hickory trending in a variety of unique applications. 

“With Kerry Red Arrow^TM, we now have the industry's largest range of smoke and grill flavour-differentiated raw materials that lets us create more authentic and unique profiles. The results are products that can be customised to meet consumers' expectations, and we see an exciting potential to apply these authentic flavours to categories beyond meat,” concludes Jacob Jones, Business Development Director – Smoke, Kerry APMEA.