Highlights from the 2024/25 Summerfruit marketing campaign

In 2024/25, Hort Innovation invested levy funds into targeted marketing campaigns designed to increase consumer awareness, boost fresh produce consumption, and strengthen connections between growers and their customers. 

Guided by consumer insights and delivered in partnership with industry, these campaigns helped more Australian households discover, purchase, and enjoy locally grown fruit and vegetables. 

Key highlights for Summerfruit include:   

• The 2024-2025 domestic Summerfruit season included a retail quality, education, and merchandising program implemented in nearly 800 Woolworths stores focussed on back-of-house storage, handling of produce, and presentation on shelves to maximise quality and visibility of Stonefruit. After the first visit by the training staff, there was an immediate 7% improvement in shelf presentation and availability. Handling practices and refilling with full boxes also improved, with a 15% increase over the pre-Christmas period and a 3% increase in February. On shelf fruit quality also improved over the duration of the program, with a 5% increase in the display of defect-free fruit. 
• A shopper survey showed that 60% of purchases are spontaneous, with visual appeal and freshness key conversion triggers, it also showed that 24.5% of shoppers would buy Summerfruit more frequently if the quality and appearance was improved. 
• In export, an integrated marketing campaign was launched to drive market penetration and consumer demand for Australian plums in Vietnam, following new market access. Activities ran from January – April 2025 and included; 2 launch events bringing together key stakeholders including retailers, importers, government representatives, and influencers in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, retail activations including instore displays across 60 retail partners and 308 consumer sampling sessions, media relations including 41 press articles and 3 TV News features throughout the campaign highlighting Australian plums launch, and social media influencer partnerships generating 15 TikTok videos reaching over 4.2 million consumers. 

To learn more about how your levy will be invested in 2025/26, please refer to your Annual Investment Plan.