Administrator Vaughan Strawbridge from FTI Consulting told The Australian Financial Review that there has been “a huge amount of interest in the business”.

“It’s been a good mix of local and international trade buyers, local manufacturers that own their own brands. And we’ve also got a good mix of financial investors who are interested as well,” he said.

He also confirmed that Sara Lee is currently continuing to trade, with almost 200 staff still producing its sweet treats from its factory in Lisarow, in regional NSW.

“Production will continue, people are still employed; importantly, we will be paying the wages on time,” Mr Strawbridge said.

On October 17, after more than 50 years of selling family favourites, including apple pies, cheesecakes and frozen chocolate desserts, Sara Lee fell into voluntary administration.

Mr Strawbridge said its problems were largely due to inflation.

“There’s no surprise that the cost of doing business has gone up from raw materials, energy, logistics, and that’s just all the inflationary pressure,” he said.

“They have price increases that go through to customers and ultimately to end consumers, and that has resulted in reduced level of sales.”

Sara Lee was bought off global giant McCain Foods by New Zealand private equity firm South Island Office in 2021 for an estimated $95 million.

Its annual sales are about $122 million, with the bulk coming from the frozen desserts channel.

Mr Strawbridge said that higher-than-expected costs following its acquisition were also to blame for its financial woes.

“It has had to set up its head office function and back office. A lot of functions have been extracted out of the old McCain business, including logistics providers and cold storage. Those costs have been higher than first anticipated,” he said.

The Lismore floods, which destroyed its ice-cream factory resulting in lost sales and additional costs to re-establish supply, also played a role in its decline.

Mr Strawbridge said he was continuing to confirm its unsecured creditor position, with the first meeting of creditors to occur Friday.

Aussies reacted with shock about the news that Sara Lee had fallen into administration, with fans taking to Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) to share their disbelief and dismay.

On Facebook, one user posted: “Noooo. Say it isn’t so”, while another wrote: “No good for all families sad”.

One deflated fan of the brand added: “There goes the iconic chocolate Bavarian.” Another posted: “Coles have not stocked their Deep Dish Apple Pie for over 7 months. We used to buy 5 each week for 6 years.”

Other Facebook users had theories on why the dessert maker had failed.

“It’s because they changed the strawberry cheesecake”, one commented, while another blamed its demise on the trend to healthier eating: “Because people are getting healthier and waking up when it comes to sugar addiction.”

Others weighed in, admitting they simply no longer buy frozen desserts anymore.

“Why buy frozen when you can buy fresh?” one questioned.