Australian Vintage appoints its first chief marketing officer

ASX-listed wine and drinks business, Australian Vintage, has appointed its first chief marketing officer, recruiting former Freedom Foods and All G Foods marketer, Tom Dusseldorp, to the post.

Australian Vintage (AVL) is a wine wholesaler and importer representing brands such as McGuigan, Tempus Two, Nepenthe and the Barossa Valley Wine Company. The company also manages drinks ranges and strategic collaborations with Sarah Jessica Parker for Sevenly and Invivo.

Dusseldorp takes up the newly created role from 9 January 2023 and will report directly to CEO, Craig Garvin. He will be responsible for Australian Vintage’s total marketing and brand strategy across Australia, UK and global markets including North Americas and Asia.

Dusseldorp boasts of more than 15 years’ brand building experience across the Australian and UK marketing landscape. Currently, he is marketing and sales chief at sustainable meat and dairy company, All G Foods, which has created a plant-based protein range and also launched its own barbecue festival.

Prior to this, he was CMO at Camp Australia, which provides after-hours school care. During his three-and-a-half-year tenure, he relaunched the brand and purpose and worked to better optimise the customer journey. Dusseldorp also spent more than three years at Freedom Foods as CMO, where highlights including launching the Milklab brand for the barista market.

Having started in creative agencies, Dusseldorp does have premium wine and spirits too, having worked for Pernod Ricard in brand roles across the RTD and spirits portfolios, before going global to lead the Chivas Prestige range in London. On his return to Australia 10 years ago, he looked after champagne and spirits categories locally.

Credit: Tom Dusseldorp

“I’m thrilled to have someone of Tom’s calibre leading the team as we continue to grow across all markets we operate in,” said Garvin. “He is a world-class marketer who does things differently, and we’re delighted to be bringing his expertise, energy and proven track record of supporting growth and innovation to Australian Vintage. Tom is bringing a strong strategic mind to the brand portfolio and has some exciting ideas about how we can take our proposition to the next level as part of our strategic plan.”

Dusseldorp was equally thrilled to be joining Australian Vintage and said the wine and drinks company is putting the consumer at the heart of everything it does.

“I was drawn to AVL as the business has such a dynamic approach to the wine and drinks industry. AVL is creating new products for new consumers and occasions while accelerating the growth of a core range of brands that are made locally with exceptional quality,” he commented. “It is such an exciting time for the business. I’m looking forward to working with the team to accelerate growth.”

AVL reported annual revenue of $260 million in the FY22 year, with underlying EBITDA of $48.2m, a margin of 16.5 per cent. It also reported a 7 per cent increase in underlying profit year-on-year. Of this, 78 per cent of revenue was driven by its pillar brands.

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