Sara Lee rescued from administration, serving just desserts for 200 Australian workers

Beloved frozen dessert manufacturer Sara Lee has been rescued from administration, thanks to a buyout from a team with close family ties to the successful turnaround of Darrell Lea.

Sara Lee collapsed in October 2023, after growing operational costs, natural disasters surrounding its Central Coast manufacturing site, and the demise of a refrigerated transport partner constrained its business.

Management secured Vaughan Strawbridge, Kathryn Evans and Joseph Hansell of FTI Consulting as joint administrators, with Strawbridge airing plans to quickly sell or restructure the venture.

On Monday, FTI Consulting confirmed the administrators have entered an agreement to sell Sara Lee’s Australian and New Zealand operations to a business owned by Klark and Brooke Quinn.

Sara Lee was sold as a going concern, securing the jobs of approximately 200 workers.

The refreshed venture also bears the rights to operate in southeast Asia and the Middle East, with Sara Lee’s global operations handling other regions worldwide.

Klark Quinn is the son of Tony and Christina Quinn, the former owners of VIP Pet Foods, who sold the venture for $410 million in 2015.

In 2012, the Quinn family rescued the chocolate brand Darrell Lea from its own administration, with Tony citing an interest in FMCG manufacturing — and a long-term dream of entering the ice cream market.

Klark Quinn came on board as general manager as part of the Sara Lee acquisition.

The Quinn family sold Darrell Lea to a private equity firm in 2018 for $200 million.

Now, the elder Quinn’s ice cream dream appears to be partially fulfilled with the younger generation’s business purchase.

“We are a small Aussie family that shared in the tradition of having Sara Lee Apple Pie and Vanilla Ice-cream every Sunday night at the dinner table and could not be more proud to put the Aussie-made and owned stamp on the Sara Lee brand,” Klark and Brooke Quinn said in a statement.