Hudson Food Group invests $20 million in Indigenous-led enterprise

Hudson Food Group invests $20 million in Indigenous-led enterprise

The deal is considered the largest ever impact investment into an Indigenous business in Australia 

Hudson Food Group has announced a $20 million investment in The Dreaming Food Group. 

MDW congratulates good friends and clients Ken Skoullos and Frank Karkalas, Founders and Directors of Hudson Food Group, on this landmark event. 

The Dreaming Food Group is co-founded by Aboriginal business leaders David Liddard OAM and Michael Manikas. It will function as a for-profit enterprise, directing one-third of its profits to The Dreaming Foundation charity. The Dreaming Foundation’s purpose is to fund Indigenous-led organisations. 

Our commercial and corporate team led by Jeffrey Pinch together with Briget O’Callaghan, Jeremy Goldman, Josh Kaplan and Evelyn Zeglinas advised Hudson Food Group on this investment. We are pleased to be associated and work with clients such as the Hudson Food Group whose values so closely align with that of our firm. 

Both Ken and Frank are successful entrepreneurs and have a strong social conscience. They use their significant food industry expertise to help close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians through investment and involvement in The Dreaming Food Group.

“When we returned to Hudson our plan was for it to become a platform for greater things: to focus on philanthropic outcomes and create a self-perpetuating commercial model that doesn’t rely on traditional charity,” said Karkalas. 

“We were extremely drawn to the for-purpose nature of The Dreaming Food Group, especially given the opportunity to not only help accelerate some of the ambitious plans the business had, but most importantly through our investment help fund Close the Gap initiatives between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians”

The Dreaming Food Group will operate as a food distribution and manufacturing business, focusing on native ingredients and preserving cultural ownership. 

Read the Australian Financial Review’s article about The Dreaming Food Group’s work.  

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