How a Belgian ingredients group became a quiet force in Australia’s baking industry and why Managing Director Alan Xu sees the Belgian-Australian Excellence Awards as a natural fit.
When the company opened in Australia in 2012, it was quite the “quick setup,” Managing Director Alan Xu recalls. Fourteen years later, it employs about 35 people, runs a manufacturing plant in Melbourne, and generates nearly $35 million in revenue, growth that reflects the group’s quiet, technical, methodical style.
You won’t find the company’s name on supermarket shelves and that’s the point. It supplies jams, glazes, sourdoughs, bread improvers, custards and Belgian chocolate to industrial bakers, food manufacturers, food service and the in-store bakeries of major supermarket chains, reaching millions each week without a logo in sight.
A global business with a local soul
Founded in Belgium in the early 1900s and still family-owned, the group operates in more than 100 countries. Alan notes the Van Belle family’s longstanding ties to Belgian public life, but stresses the Australian business runs locally not as an outpost taking orders from Brussels.
“Operations are run locally,” Alan says. “We test the guidance from Belgium: if it applies, we roll it out; if it doesn’t, we say so.”
That autonomy matters in a multicultural market. Australia’s baking culture blends European traditions with tastes from around the world-balancing craft and mainstream demand.
The Melbourne acquisition that changed everything
The turning point came in 2016 with the acquisition of a Melbourne jam factory. Moving from imports to local manufacturing, fillings, glazes, bread improvers, custards and later sourdough, delivered faster turnaround and flexibility.
“It was a big step,” Alan says. “We went from about $8 million to roughly $12 million almost immediately.” Just as important, local production lets the team tailor ingredients to each customer’s equipment.
Today, about 80% of the Australian portfolio is made in Melbourne. Specialist items such as UHT products and high-end Belgian chocolate are still imported, as replicating that capability would require major investment.
The science of the perfect ingredient
Alan points to R&D as the key differentiator: the team starts with each customer’s production line and designs backwards from there.
“Lines behave differently,” Alan says. “What works on one can fail on another. We make sure it works for you, in your environment.”
The same thinking guides pricing and performance. A raspberry jam might contain 5% to 100% fruit because different product tiers have different economics and expectations—so ingredients are engineered to fit the market they serve.
Belgian know-how in an Australian context
Does Belgian origin matter in Australia? Alan says most customers won’t care about “Belgian flour,” but they do value Belgian expertise in patisserie, European-style breads and fermentation.
“The knowledge and technology, baguettes, real levain sourdough, fine European patisserie, that’s valued,” he says. “But wherever possible, ingredients should come from Australia. That’s what customers want.”
Supporting the Belgian-Australian Excellence Awards
As a sponsor of the inaugural Belgian-Australian Excellence Awards, the company is backing a first-of-its-kind initiative. For Alan, it’s a practical way to keep the Australian business connected to its Belgian roots.
“We have a Belgian identity,” Alan says. “The passion, goals and vision started in Belgium and grew globally—Australia is part of that story. We operate independently here, but we’re not disconnected. The Awards make that link visible.”
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