Hort Innovation has recently announced the launch of Taste Australia, an initiative set to be the largest trade push in Australian horticulture’s history. By 2025 it aims to grow Australian produce exports by contributing an investment of more than $10.5 million into horticultural activities across the next year.
Hort Innovation is the grower-owned research and development corporation for Australia’s ever-expanding horticulture sector. The funding of Taste Australia is about raising international awareness of Australia’s high quality produce to overseas markets.
Because of Australia's well-established reputation for great produce, Hort Innovation sees room for significant growth. Announced by Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Senator Anne Ruston, Taste Australia aims to help promote premium Australian produce in current and future markets. It also plans to assist research and development, with the intention of growing access to the Australian market with increased support for current and aspiring exporters.
“Australia is known for delivering high end produce that has undergone the most rigorous food safety inspections along all stages of the supply chain. We want to build upon that. The first way we are doing this is through Taste Australia, which tells the unique story of Australian horticulture products” - Hort Innovation chair Selwyn Snell.
Taste Australia to tour Asia
With over 200 industry representatives, Taste Australia is set to be launched in Hong Kong next month as part of Asia Fruit Logistica. This will be followed by a six-month trade show tour with events for Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo. 
This is part of Hort’s plan to invest 40 per cent more on trade show efforts than the previous year, with the objective of getting Australian produce players in front of potential international buyers.
Back in Australia, Hort Innovation’s financial investment in R&D activities will see a boost in areas such as biosecurity, pre-export produce treatments and supply chain efficiencies.
Branding for international markets
The growth in fresh produce branding is having a huge impact on our industry - Taste Australia, which has a specific focus on in-market retail activities and trade shows, has highlighted the importance of strong branding. Product branding is equally important to fresh produce suppliers, particularly for the purpose of identification in export market. Branding influences the way consumers choose produce and it’s vital to understand your role in delivering safe quality produce in order to protect and enhance your brand.
Read more: Brand boom — how to create value through fresh produce brands
Branding fresh produce brings many other benefits, including:
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It allows growers and packers to communicate with consumers about their product, including its consistent quality, safety and taste.
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It works to build a brand's reputation and long-term customer loyalty.
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It allows fresh produce to communicate positive attributes and develop consumer awareness.
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Enables fresh produce to capture a premium price, rather than being a price taker on a global market.
With the launch of Taste Australia, communicating your value and delivering on your brand promise is paramount. Customers and consumers have options and if they arent happy with their experience they will look to another supplier or produce type.
This is where technology provides the biggest value, often associated with labour reduction, automation delivers consistency and reliability. For example Spectrim, through a combination of powerful hardware and intelligent software is giving it's customers confidence to be able to deliver consistent quality packs to their customers and consumers.
Read more: Consumer trends create huge opportunity for branded fresh produce
In the citrus industry, providing consistent quality is vital in the success of a brand. Australia’s largest citrus packer, Costa Group recently invested in their 2nd
8 lane Spectrim system. “We’ve been really pleasantly surprised with how well the Spectrim machine has worked. It’s exceeded our expectations,” Richie Roberts, Citrus Divisional Manager, Costa Group. Spectrim has substantially improved Costa’s ability to control the consistency of its citrus offer, which is marketed under its Vitor, Kangara and Costa brands. Packing around 100,000 tonnes of citrus per year for customers across the world, the group has little room for error.
It is an exciting time to be in the produce industry and the announcement of Taste Australia presents a massive opportunity for packers who can consistently deliver on their brand produce of quality, safe produce and enhance their brand by being the first choice for consumers.
Want to find out more about how Spectrim can enhance your brand promise? Chat to the Compac team at Asia Fruit Logistica this September. Book in a time to talk here.
