Marketing snapshot - 2019/20

Hort Innovation is responsible for investing the dried grape marketing levy into a range of activities to drive awareness and consumption, under the Hort Innovation Dried Grape Fund. Here’s a quick look at some of the activities and achievements of 2019/20, for both the domestic and export marketing campaigns.

In the 2019/20 financial period, the dried grape marketing program delivered several initiatives in export markets, underpinned by the development of new branding (which you can read about a little further down).

Activities included attendance at key trade events in Asia, Europe and in Australia, with participation from representatives of Dried Fruits Australia, Sunbeam Foods and Australian Premium Dried Fruits. At these events Australian Sultanas and Australian Sunmuscats were heavily promoted and received well by buyers and importers.

During the year, key relationships were also further developed with Global Victoria, Bosch Boden Spies (Europe), buyers, supermarkets and snack market representatives in both Asian and European markets.

New branding for export markets

The key focus of the 2019/20 dried grape export marketing campaign was to develop a new branding position for Australian Dried Grapes. Hort Innovation and Dried Fruits Australia worked closely with processors to better understand export markets and how Australian dried grapes could be positioned effectively. This included consulting with processors Australian Premium Dried Fruits and Sunbeam Foods to leverage their contacts and experience within the export marketplace to provide input on key cultural elements that would be required in a new branding position that would appeal internationally, particularly in Asia.

Throughout the early phase of the design process there was constant consultation with the domestic dried grape industry and processor representatives to ensure the new logos would present the Australian dried grape products as premium and include elements that appeal to the Asian and European marketplaces, such as appropriate colour arrangements and the inclusion of eight grapes – a number that has significant appeal in China.

In regard to Europe, the dried grape marketing program worked with Bosch Boden Spies to adjust the new branding of Australian Sultanas and, in particular, Australian Sunmuscats to appeal to the European marketplace.

Since the rebranding project commenced, the following activities have been successfully achieved:

• Development of a new brand for Australian Sultanas and Australian Sunmuscats that has appeal to export markets, with a focus on Asia
• Marketing collateral, based on new branding, developed for use at key trade events
• Translation of marketing collateral for key export markets
• Launch of marketing collateral and new brand at Food Hotel Vietnam in April 2019
• Brochures developed with information on dried grape varieties to be used as fact sheets
• Introduction of new collaborative branding at SIAL Shanghai in May 2019
• Introduction of new branding and differentiated produce – Australian Sunmuscats – with appeal to the European market at the Anuga food fair in October 2019.