Iconic Australian dessert maker Sara Lee ‘needs to be saved’, fans urge as firm goes bust

Name: Sara Lee pound cake, a staple for the Asian diaspora, crumbles after 50 years
Uploaded: 2023-10-19T08:45:09.000Z
Duration: 11 min 6 s
Description: Sara Lee pound cake, a staple for the Asian diaspora, crumbles after 50 years

Some fans blamed stubborn inflation and soaring energy prices for the collapse, others said the firm was in financial trouble from bad management

Administrators are working with Sara Lee Australia’s management to continue operations while seeking a buyer or to restructure the business

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SCMP’s Asia desk

Published: 4:45pm, 19 Oct 2023Updated: 11:05am, 20 Oct 2023

Fans of beloved Australian company Sara Lee, renowned for its frozen cheesecakes and ice cream, have called on fellow dessert lovers to add the iconic products to their shopping trolleys in a show of support, as they served up a slice of nostalgia on the brand that has gone into voluntary administration.

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Sara Lee pound cake, a staple for the Asian diaspora, crumbles after 50 years

The cash-strapped sweetmaker, founded in New South Wales state’s Lisarow in 1971, was a staple in many kitchens in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

On Wednesday, administrators from FTI Consulting said they were working with Sara Lee Australia’s management to continue operations while looking for a prospective buyer or to restructure the business.

“Sara Lee is an iconic brand which produces quality Australian made products from its manufacturing facility in Lisarow NSW, where it employs some 200 staff,” administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said in a statement.

New Zealand private equity firm South Island Office bought Australia’s Sara Lee from Canada’s McCain Foods in 2021.

Some of the company’s workers told public broadcaster ABC that they are “hopeful that the business will be saved, that their jobs will be secure and they will be able to continue to produce the food that the Sara Lee brand is known for”.

Sara Lee’s fans found the news hard to swallow and pledged to do their bit to keep the firm afloat.

“Everybody go today and if everyone buys one Sara Lee product will help them out, we have to keep them going, they are a family business. We will miss them if they go,” a Facebook user said.