Food and beverage

Our multi-disciplinary team has a strong reputation for advising on all aspects of the food and beverage sector, including:

production and manufacturing
food standards, composition, packaging and labelling
commercial arrangements, including supply arrangements and logistics
branding, advertising and intellectual property, including geographical indications and protection of unregistered IP such as trade secrets inherent in recipes and food production
alcohol licensing
dietary supplements
import and export issues, including for dairy, meat and animal products
new product launches and new entrants in the New Zealand market
joint ventures and funding arrangements
competition law issues
regulatory and health and safety investigations and food recalls.

Our team has a deep working knowledge of industry-specific legislation such as the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, the Wine Act, the Food Act, the Commodity Levies Act, the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, Codex, the Advertising Standards Authority Codes, the Fair Trading Act, Smoke Free Environments Act and the Accident Compensation Corporation scheme (ACC).

Our team brings our expertise and experience to bear to advise on corporate transactions in the food & beverage sector, including on due diligence and long-term licensing, co-existence and strategic partnerships.

Our food and beverage team is part of our wider Consumer, Regulatory and Compliance team, ensuring that food and beverage advice is seamless coordinated with clients’ related compliance and commercial activities, including intellectual, advertising, promotions and fair trading.

^{Clients say the team is "}^{Great to work with. The advice is very practical and takes into account the organisation's mission, goals etc."}

^{"What immediately makes Bell Gully stand out is their responsiveness and ability to predict and provide the appropriate resources for the situation at hand. This means we can get to decisions faster without the usual back and forth with new resources having to come in late and get up to speed."}

LACTALIS

Advised on its proposed acquisition of Fonterra’s global Consumer and associated businesses.

Advertising, marketing and promotions:

Acting for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturers and advertising agencies on the compliance of advertising and marketing materials. Highlights include advising on all advertising and marketing activations relating to the launch of Popeyes in New Zealand, and advising Restaurant Brands on the "Gravy Train" and "Zing Air" promotions for KFC.