Success stories: how Matthews Australasia helps local food producers scale operations

When it comes to scaling operations in food manufacturing, automation is one of the most powerful tools available. Whether you’re increasing output, expanding product lines, supplying major retailers or exporting for the first time, manual processes can quickly become a bottleneck.

Automating processes such as coding and labelling not only improves speed and accuracy, but also frees up valuable resources, letting your team focus on other value-adding tasks.

Just as important is access to the right data.

With the right technology, producers can gain real-time visibility into their operations, identify inefficiencies, improve quality and make more informed decisions that enable business growth.

That’s where Matthews Australasia comes in. With decades of experience in labelling, coding and traceability, Matthews helps local food producers scale through intelligent automation, integrated package code management software such as iDSnet, and solutions designed to grow with your business.

Here’s how Matthews is helping Australian food producers automate, streamline and scale:

The Gourmet Nut Company: automating labelling for efficiency and growth

Manual labelling may work for small batches, but as volumes increase, it quickly becomes a barrier. That was the case for The Gourmet Nut Company, whose sales had increased dramatically since its launch in 1998.

The business was manually applying three labels per pack, a time-consuming process that became unsustainable. They also had thousands of reels of pre-printed film tying up working capital across 12 product lines.

Managing Director Ray Rust said, “With increasing volumes, we needed a more efficient process than hand-labelling every pack.”

Matthews implemented the TT1000 (53mm) Thermal Transfer Overprinter, a high-speed, high-resolution printer that enabled the team to print directly onto generic film, improving packaging consistency, decreasing film costs and eliminating manual labour.

The result? Faster, more flexible operations at a significantly lower cost, freeing the business to keep growing.

Australian International Foods: integrating systems for seamless scaling

As Australian International Foods (AIF) expanded into being one of the country’s leading suppliers of chilled and frozen meals, it required more efficient systems.

What began as a family-run business now uses a suite of Matthews technology, including label printer applicators, thermal transfer overprinters, thermal inkjet and continuous inkjet coders – all connected through iDSnet.

Crucially, iDSnet is integrated with AIF’s SAP system and is a no-code platform, enabling real-time updates to codes and labels without requiring code or disrupting production.

This level of automation and integration has enabled AIF to keep pace with retail and export demand while maintaining agility and independence.

Scandinavian Cone Company: matching solutions to each stage of growth

Starting with a dream to bring authentic Danish waffle cones to Australia, the Scandinavian Cone Company has grown into an internationally recognised brand. As they scaled, they needed a cost-effective solution to mark cartons with batch and product information.

Matthews recommended the Mperia L-Series Thermal Inkjet Printer, chosen for its low cost, ease of installation and high-definition print quality.

General Manager Blake Stratton said, “We've relied upon Matthews for our printer needs for 20 years. The Mperia L12 was perfect for our needs as a low-cost, high definition solution. It was simple and easy to self-install.”

With minimal setup and maximum reliability, the solution has enabled the business to scale smoothly across Australia, New Zealand, and beyond.

“It allows a small growing business to match a solution to the needs in its company’s life,” Blake said.

Frozen Sunshine: saving time and labour with automated date coding

From selling at markets to producing over 350,000 handmade ice blocks a year, Queensland’s Frozen Sunshine has experienced serious growth. But with this growth, their production process needed to evolve, particularly in how they applied best-before dates and batch codes.

At first, they were manually stickering each pack, a time-consuming and expensive task that didn’t scale.

Matthews helped implement a Continuous Inkjet Printer that prints directly onto the packaging as it’s sealed, automating the process.

Co-founder Jamie Dalton said, “It's like night and day. The amount of time it’s saved us as a small business having to do all that hand stickering is priceless.”

This simple solution has made a big difference: freeing up staff and preparing the business for future growth.