Baking surge prompts Darling Downs business expansion

Kialla Pure Foods, a Darling Downs-based organic grain processor, has increased production due to rising demand for baking and cooking ingredients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has hired six new people to meet demand for products like flour, as the nation moves to cooking at home. The new hires include a musician whose gigs were cancelled and a miner whose work had dried up; all new employees were redeployed after losing their jobs during COVID-19.

The company was one of 15 businesses in Queensland to receive a co-contribution Rural Economic Development (RED) Grant of up to $250,000 to improve their business under round one in 2019. The grant was used to upgrade the company’s blending system by installing a new mixer and packaging system.

“The new infrastructure, which has only just been commissioned, allowed Kialla Pure Foods to meet new demand for at-home baking and cooking products. The new mixer allows for effective cleandowns between runs allowing them to avoid cross-contamination between products, which is highly important when working with organic materials — and it’s proven very handy during this period of changing consumer demand,” said Mark Furner, Minister for Agriculture Industry Development and Fisheries.

Managing Director Quentin Kennedy noted an increase in orders in March and a 300% increase on previous fortnights.

“It was probably one or two weeks after the rush on flour in the main supermarkets that we started to see it move into our market in independents and health food stores. We very quickly moved to ramp up production to catch up with demand. We wouldn’t have been able to handle it without the new equipment. We’ve got more capacity with the new infrastructure, we’ve been able to double capacity on mixing and wouldn’t have been able to keep up with demand without it,” Kennedy said.

According to Kennedy, demand has increased for all products, including 50 different kinds of grains and flours.

“We’re in a lucky position because COVID-19 has brought the focus back to food and food production. For a long time people considered food as a given but this has changed their views. With working from home we’ve seen a wave of home baking occurring and an increase in demand for flours. We’ve also seen a lift in the export side, which has driven demand and a fundamental shift in consumer value perception,” Kennedy said.

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