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 the onion marketing campaign include:
- Coinciding with the May federal election, the third PR spike ignited a national conversation around the iconic democracy sausage: should onions go under or over?
- To spark conversation, Alex Dawson, founder of the Democracy Sausage website, championed the “onions under” stance in an exclusive TODAY interview, while TODAY Extra featured kitchen expert Jane De Graaf demonstrating the perfect caramelised onions for a democracy sausage. During the segment, Jane also discussed the differences between Australia’s three onion varietals, reinforced the ‘first ingredient’ message, and encouraged viewers to visit the Australian Onions website.
- A live sausage sizzle activation in Melbourne added to the buzz, serving 458 democracy sausages and inviting passers-by to choose a side, with local advocates from both Team Over and Team Under displaying posters and banners.
- Results from this campaign were exceptional, with 79 pieces of earned coverage generating a total reach of over 75 million.
- Mary also extended the debate into camping season, sharing content that encouraged families to debate onions rightful place as the first ingredient on the sausage sizzle. This reached 338k people on Instagram and TikTok and generated over 1,000 additional engagements.
