Marketing snapshot - Hortlink 2018, edition 1

This Hort Innovation Raspberry and Blackberry Fund marketing snapshot has been taken from Hort Innovation’s Hortlink 2018, edition 1.

Hort Innovation is responsible for investing the raspberry and blackberry marketing levy into a range of activities to drive awareness and consumption, under the Hort Innovation Raspberry and Blackberry Fund.

BerryQuest 2018

As part of the BerryQuest International 2018 event – held in Tasmania in February – Hort Innovation’s Acting Marketing Lead, Elisa King, presented on marketing to attendees, using insights from her work on mangoes to help the industry understand the requirements of a successful marketing campaign. In particular, there was an emphasis on the importance of tying a campaign back to consumer insights, and a highlight on the trend towards more marketing campaigns focusing on the emotive benefits of a product as opposed to the functional benefits.

Additionally, in response to the berry industry’s growing demand to expand efforts into export, Hort Innovation brought executive chef Antimo Maria Merone to the conference, as part of the Taste Australia program. Antimo is the executive chef at 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana, which is part of a network of some 120 restaurants that make up the Galaxy group in Macau, China.

Taste Australia is a Hort Innovation driven initiative that works to increase the profile, sale and consumption of premium horticulture products in key export markets, including in Asia and the Middle East. The program encompasses trade shows, retail marketing programs and foodservice activity.

As part of Taste Australia’s foodservice arm, raspberry and blackberry fund manager Stuart Burgess spent the days prior to the conference showing Antimo the beautiful produce that Tasmania offers, including berries, to inspire Antimo to take this knowledge back to Macau to encourage the use of Australian produce in the Galaxy restaurant group.

Antimo also attended the conference, getting the chance to sit in on some of the conference sessions, talk to some of the growers, and give a brief presentation on his perceptions of Australian produce and opportunities for export.