What is the Coles Nurture Fund?
The Coles Nurture Fund is a grant opportunity to help small Australian food and grocery producers, farmers and manufacturers to innovate and grow their business.
Need help preparing a Coles Nuture Fund application?
Background
In April 2015, Coles launched the Nurture Fund to help small to medium Australian producers, farmers and manufacturers to innovate and grow their business.
From Australia’s first quinoa processing facility, to fence posts made from recycled plastic, and a state-of-the-art factory to grow grass indoors, the Coles Nurture Fund (CNF) supports businesses to develop new market-leading products, technologies, systems and processes.
Through the Coles Nurture Fund, existing small to medium businesses may apply for funding to enable them to help them develop new market-leading products, technologies and processes.
Case Study
Bulletpoint have assisted a number of food manufacturing companies secure manufacturing grants similar to the Coles Nurture Fund, such as the Melbourne’s North Innovation and Investment Fund.
Here are some recent examples:
Bulletpoint assisted Harry & Larry’s Ice-cream secure $1,200,000. Based in Brunswick, Harry & Larry’s manufacture a range of specialty ice creams.
The grant will see 30 new jobs created and investment in a factory expansion with custom engineered production lines, including the latest freezing technology, to make a range of gourmet ice creams and desserts in complex shapes and layers.
Bulletpoint assisted Cottage Cheese Farm secure $765,000. Based in Glenroy, Victoria, Cottage Cheese Farm is a speciality cheese manufacturer making mainly Haloumi, Ricotta and Mozzarella cheeses.
They received funding to assist with construction of a $6M purpose built cheese and yoghurt manufacturing facility. The project will allow them to expand current operations and introduction of new product lines.
Funding
The maximum single amount provided under the Coles Nurture Fund is $500,000
Eligibility
To be eligible for funding from the Coles Nurture Fund, applicants must have:
- Revenue – less than $25 million
- Employees – no more than 50 full time employees
- Registrations – ABN and GST
- Trading – minimum of 2 years
- Financial statements – minimum of the previous 2 financial years
- Funding – a funding declaration from an external accountant
How to get the Coles Nurture Fund?
Bulletpoint’s review of the Coles Nurture Fund application form suggests that you will need to be able to demonstrate:
- Growth Strategy –Whether the project is an expansion of an existing activity or diversification of existing businesses
- Cool Tech – The extent of new innovation, including new technology
- Competitive Neutrality – Trade impacts on other businesses including competitors
- Market – The extent to which the project will service the Australian market
- Management – Details of the your track record to successfully implement the new project
- IP – Did you develop any of the technology identified for the project
- Shovel Ready – Have you accessed suppliers and sourced distributors for the project
- Cash –How you will fund the project not covered by the grant
- Sustainability – how will the project continue after the completion date
- Goals – What are the longer term outcomes from the project
- Funding – Would the investment proposal proceed without the CNF funding
Timing
Round 11 opens January 2023.
More Information
Disclaimer
Bulletpoint has no association with Coles or the Coles Nurture Fund. Potential applicants should consult the Coles website for the latest information.
Bulletpoint provides grants and funding news. Some copyright material may have been republished as per the fair dealing guidelines under the Copyright Act 1968 for the purposes of news and criticism.
Round 10 Recipients
Family business Peninsula Fresh Organics will use a $300,000 grant to help transform its irrigation infrastructure at its farms at Baxter in Victoria and Barham in NSW and to build a cool room to improve product shelf life. This will help save 60 million litres of water per year and prevent run off of nutrients into local waterways.
Third-generation business Mt Alma Organics will receive $300,000 to purchase and install specialised equipment for washing, grading and sorting produce.
Agricultural Networks will use a $189,000 grant to help fast-track access to organic fresh produce in key growing regions through a new dedicated organic certified packing and distribution facility at Gatton.
Fourth-generation farmers McMahon Family Enterprises, better known as McPiggery, has been awarded a $490,000 grant to construct covered effluent ponds at its new sheds to help manage waste and create sustainable energy by capturing methane.
Lamb and horticulture business Elansco, owned and managed by Lauchlan and Sarah Cole, will receive a $295,000 grant to construct an undercover animal management facility.
Cattle producers David and Katy Gillett from Jalna Feedlot have been awarded a $300,000 grant to install two solar power systems to reduce emissions in their production of beef for Coles’ carbon neutral beef range.
Round 9 Recipients
NSW agricultural business, Sawmill Circuit, will receive a $455,000 grant to purchase a large vacuum truck which will collect manure from 18 dairy farms in Nowra so that it can be transported to a biogas plant which is being built in the local area. Once collected, the manure will be converted to renewable energy and put back into the grid.
Recycled Plastic Pipe Manufacturers will use a $290,000 grant to purchase equipment to increase its ability to manufacture stormwater drainage pipes from plastic waste, diverting waste from landfill and providing an end-to-end solution in the circular economy.
Raffa Fields will receive a $250,000 grant to install climate-controlled polytunnel growing structures to extend the growing season for asparagus in Victoria and replace imports at a time when locally-grown asparagus is not available.
Ky D-Pak will use a $250,000 grant to apply Voen all-weather covers to cherries to protect crops from bird and weather damage, provide greater surety of supply in the face of adverse weather, reduce water usage and improve fruit quality.
The Georgopoulos family will receive a $250,000 grant to grow organic fruit with trellising, environmental netting and irrigation.
Newton Orchards has been awarded $250,000 to install large scale netting over its apple trees to reduce waste, improve pome fruit quality, increase water use efficiency and minimise damage from endangered bird species.
Not A Trace will use a $400,000 grant to build an additional bakery production line 100% dedicated to gluten-free and nut-free savoury snacks and crackers.
Spring Gully Foods has been awarded a $380,000 grant to acquire a new pasteuriser to reduce water usage and improve efficiency for the manufacture of condiments and preserved vegetable products.
The Ieraci family will use a $30,000 grant to store and re-use dairy effluent in a way that minimises the impact to groundwater and the environment, and benefits crops and pastures.
Kintore Pastoral has been awarded a $200,000 grant to build a best practice shelter for dairy cows to improve herd health, reduce nutrient run off, protect soils and result in quality organic fertiliser going back onto pastures.
Glenbank Farm, run by a family of three female dairy farmers, has been awarded a $250,000 grant to build compost-bedded, solar-powered loafing sheds to provide a sheltered area where cows are protected from extreme heat in summer and wet mud in winter.
That Spirited Lot Distillers will receive a $220,000 grant to expand its manufacturing capacity to increase its production of a line of spirits and support the use of solar energy and recycled wine waste material.
he Caithness family will receive a $180,000 grant to use a combination of genomics, ultrasound scanning, estimated breeding values and artificial insemination in its commercial herd to improve eating quality, productivity and profitability.
Mt Boothby Pastoral has been awarded a $340,000 grant to reduce its carbon footprint by installing solar energy systems and helping to close the loop within a diversified and integrated agricultural production system.
Round 8 Recipients
Recycling manufacturer Plastic Forests will receive a $300,000 grant to manufacture fence posts from recycled plastic, providing an end-to-end solution for agricultural plastic such as sileage wrap and another recycling option for soft plastics collected at Coles.
Beef producers Steve and Christina McKay will use a $46,000 grant to purchase recycled plastic posts to re-fence five kilometres of their property after losing a substantial amount of fencing in the recent bushfires.
Beef producers Marcus and Rebecca Clarke will receive a $15,500 grant to re-fence 1.5 kilometres of their property with recycled plastic posts from Plastic Forests after losing fencing in the bushfires earlier this year.
Mt Warning Beverage Company, better known for its two brands; Yaru Water and Mount Warning Mineral Water, will receive a $410,000 grant to install new equipment to produce a range of native botanical tonic waters which are Australian owned, sourced and made using Indigenous flavours.
Black River Produce will use a $300,000 grant to plant locally-grownasparagus and help to reduce imports of the vegetable into Australia.
Family business Braebrook Pastoral will use a $360,000 grant to convert organic waste to renewable energy by constructing an on-farm biogas system on its pig farm.
Beechworth Honey will use a $400,000 grant to increase productivity and cost efficiencies in their honey packing facilities by installing robotic technology to streamline its operations.
Gippsland farmers the Olsen family – who won The Weekly Times Coles Innovative Farmer of the Year in February – will use a $400,000 grant to expand its facilities and treble the manufacture of its Soilkee Renovator Units.
With a $174,000 grant, Harvey Citrus will extend the supply of WA-grown citrus over the summer, increase local employment and reduce imports by extending its cool room facility and acquire solar panels for their packing shed.
Sutton Farms will use a $400,000 grant to increase water and fertiliser efficiency by introducing grow bag technology and a new irrigation system for its cherry tomatoes grown in the field.
Hall Stanley Premium Chestnuts will save water and increase production by introducing new high-efficiency irrigation and fertigation, which reduces evaporation and increases nutrients. A $73,000 grant will enable the chestnut grower to irrigate and fertigate new plantings concurrently with older blocks.
Todaro Farms will use a $78,000 grant to increase yields and quality by installing frost protection fleece and relocatable hail netting over its vegetables. This technology will allow the family business to expand its growing areas with confidence during challenging growing conditions.
