Gourmet retailer The Essential Ingredient enters administration

The Essential Ingredient, a high-end retailer of gourmet food and kitchenware, has gone into administration. The company struggled to recover from pandemic-related challenges.

Transaction snapshot

• Deal value: N/A

• Deal multiples: N/A

• Deal type: Administration

• Investors: N/A

PwC has been appointed as administrator for The Essential Ingredient. The company, founded in 1986, operates three stores and a large online business. It sells a range of food ingredients, cookbooks, and cookware to both consumers and the food service sector.

Robert Ditrich from PwC plans to keep the stores open while seeking a buyer. He expects interest due to the company's strong brand. The full extent of the company's debts is not yet known.

The Essential Ingredient faced several challenges, including stock losses during COVID lockdowns and rising operating costs. These factors significantly impacted profitability.

The company's stores are located in affluent areas of Melbourne and Sydney. Last year, it reported revenues of $12 million.

In the past, The Essential Ingredient benefited from the popularity of cooking shows like MasterChef Australia. However, recent times have been tough for high-end food businesses. Other companies in the sector, such as Beston Global Foods and Maggie Beer Holdings, have also reported financial difficulties.

Directors Syd Weddell and Peter Walmsley cited economic headwinds as the main reason for not achieving pre-COVID profitability levels.