Forbidden Foods closes IPO oversubscribed

  • 31 August 2020
The better-for-you foods company has entered the Australian Securities Exchange with a market capitalisation of A$15 million
Forbidden Foods founders Marcus Brown and Jarrod MIlani
L-R: Marcus Brown and Jarrod MIlani, co-founders of Forbidden Foods. Photo as seen on the company website

The initial public offering that Forbidden Foods launched in July has closed oversubscribed, BW Equities, the Melbourne-based boutique corporate investment company that managed the IPO, has revealed.

Forbidden Foods’ IPO raised A$6 million (£3.3 million) and the company entered the Australian Securities Exchange with a market capitalisation of A$15 million (£8.2 million) trading 30 million new shares at 20 cents each. On Monday 31 August, the market closed with shares trading at 36.5 cents.

Headquartered in Box Hill South, about 25-minute drive east of Melbourne, Forbidden Foods produces organic rice, healthy snacks and baby food under the brands Forbidden Foods, Funch, and Sensory Mill, a plant-based offering.

The company was founded in Australia in 2010 and hit the Aussie market two years later with Black Rice, its flagship product now recognised as a superfood staple.

The business expanded to New Zealand, Ireland, Singapore and the US.

Speaking to local news website The Market Herald, Marcus Brown, co-founder and chief executive, explained that the fresh capital from the IPO would support further internationalisation.

The funds will also be used for sales, marketing, product development and administration costs, as well as for general working capital.

Photo as seen on Forbidden Foods’ Facebook page

Brown also explained that the company was established as a globally oriented, scalable business building on a flexible production model that outsources manufacturing and packaging to third parties with operational expertise.

Funch, Forbidden Foods’ baby food range, is gearing up for launching a new product line to hit the domestic and global markets soon.